Sound and Silence
by meredithgrey23
Summary: Lucia, a Deaf woman, rises up in the ranks of the Saviors. As she navigates this post apocalyptic world without being able to hear, she catches the eye of Negan, the charismatic and violent leader of her group. Will she be able to hold her own with him and still succeed in this brave new world or will she crumble under this new world order?
1. Chapter 1

As the sun set on the horizon, the common area of the Sanctuary filled with people. Old, young, workers, and Saviors alike crowded in to hear what their leader had to say. The voices silenced as a tall man with hair the color of pitch, an easy grin, and a baseball bat covered with barbed wire stepped forward on the overlooking balcony. The crowd bent down on their knees to show reverence to the man known as Negan.

He spoke with authority, as if his high position was a God given right. "As you all fuckin' know, we have some business to attend to. One of our own is movin' up in the world, becomin' one of my most trusted, most relied upon soldiers. Not only is she a goddamn fighter, but she knows her shit, too. When she carries out my orders, which you know she fuckin' will, you better be ready to comply. You follow the rules, you might rise in this fucked up world like she has, you don't and I will not hesitate to iron your goddamn face or introduce you to Lucille. I don't wanna do it, but you know I will. Rules are rules and in this world we live in now, they must be followed."

The crowd nodded, acknowledging Negan's words as truth, law, and justice in a world embroiled in an apocalypse. He was their Savior, their provider, their leader. He was a guide for a few hundred individuals, leading them through after this world went to shit.

The woman standing next to Negan with her arms crossed, smirked, tilting her head to acknowledge his words. The woman of honor made no speech, no thanks to the crowd, for Negan had said enough. She stood there, looking out into the crowd, scanning the faces. She was an imposing sight at almost six foot, with her porcelain skin, hair so light it was almost white, and hard, stormy grey eyes. She saw no dissent in the eyes of the crowd, no one challenging Negan's decision. It was rare for a woman to rise so high in the ranks of a group of soldiers, even rarer still for a woman like her, a woman who had survived the years of the apocalypse without being able to hear a thing. She had proved herself worthy time and again; shown the remaining world how she fought, survived, and came out triumphant, even without sound. She was a force to be reckoned with and seemed to be made of steel. The only one more fearsome in the Sanctuary was Negan himself.

"As I've finished introducing you to Lucia as a lieutenant, you're free to go. Get back to whatever the fuck y'all are needin' to be doing," Negan's voice filling the large space. "We're done for now."

The crowd quickly dispersed, scattering in all directions. Some to the dining area, others back to work, but most headed towards the workers' sleeping area. Since the end of the world, things had slowed down significantly after dark. Most people these days rose and retired with the sun.

Negan turned to his group of lieutenants standing beside and behind him. "Well, boys, I do believe it's time for our poker night. Everything is buttoned down and everyone is in their place. Let's go back to my quarters, grab some drinks and play some goddamn poker. We should be celebratin', after all Lucia has joined our ranks. Luce, care to join our game?"

Lucia cocked her head forward slightly in agreement before gesturing for Negan to lead the way. He gave her a cocky smile, as if he knew she'd agree.

"Well then, let's get goin'," Negan said, turning on his heels and swinging the baseball bat, Lucille, onto his shoulder.

The lieutenants trailed behind, chattering amongst themselves. Lucia remained quiet, observing their route. As she had never been to this part of the Sanctuary before, she took in her surroundings. The staircase leading up to Negan's quarters was guarded by two men, heavily armed with guns and knives. They nodded at their leader, moving aside for him. The corridor was dimly lit, casting dancing shadows on the walls. She watched as Negan opened the door, ushering them inside.

Lucia looked around the room as she entered. It seemed to be a front room, of sorts, with some plush leather chairs surrounding a poker table. Where on earth Negan had found such a luxury, she had no idea, but it was nice to see something that was from the world as it used to be. This place was full of them. There were drapes on the windows, the expensive type that mansions had. Lucia could even see a fully stocked bar by the largest window. Negan had made this place a home, as much as one could when home was a large industrial building.

The lieutenants began to grab drinks from the bar and gather around the poker table, settling in. Lucia strolled to the bar, leisurely running her hands over her options. There was scotch, brandy, bourbon...the list was endless. Her hand finally settled over an almost full bottle of Patron tequila. Her poison of choice, it had been far too long since she had the chance to enjoy it. In a split second decision, she snatched the whole bottle and settled down at the poker table. Hell, if she was gonna drink, she was damn sure gonna enjoy it.

Negan was the last to sit down at the table, glass of scotch in hand, right across from Lucia. He took in the woman sitting across from him. To his surprise, she had grabbed an entire bottle of tequila, no glass in sight. He chuckled as she looked at him, raising an eyebrow in her direction. That girl was sure ballsy, and that was a goddamn fact.

"Well fuck, Luce, don't you fuckin' hold back there," Negan said with a cocky grin.

Lucia smirked as she uncapped the bottle, taking a swig while looking Negan straight in the eye. "You said we were celebrating, that's what I'm doing," she murmured.

The other lieutenants shifted nervously, unsure if they should be joining in. They never quite knew what temperment their boss would be in, whether he was serious or joking with them. The wrong word, a glance in the wrong direction, and his temper could turn on a dime. The last thing any of them wanted was their night of leisure and relaxation to turn sour.

Negan's smile grew, "You are goddamn fuckin' right, doll. To add to the celebration, that Patron in your hand is yours. Drink all, save it, bring it to your room for later, hell I don't give a shit. It's yours for the taking, you've goddamn earned it these past few years! Now, let's get to playin'. We play mainly for smokes these days, other things if you have 'em. Since it's your first time, I'll graciously give you somethin' to start out with. Build 'em game to game, lose 'em all in an instant, it's all about how you play, Luce. I am assuming you've actually played poker before, right?"

Lucia took another swig of the tequila, savoring the feeling as it burnt it's way down her throat. She looked up, widening her grey eyes, looking a bit more innocent. "I've played before, not since the shit hit the fan, but I can play."

Negan pounded the table with his fist, "Alright, let's get playin' then! Arat, if you don't mind, deal us in for Texas holdem," he motioned to the woman on his left with short, curly hair.

"You got it, Boss," she muttered as she passed each player their cards.

Hours went by, it was deep into the night, and yet they were still playing. Arat and Dwight, a blonde haired man with a nasty looking scar covering half his face, were out of cigarettes and were leaning back, enjoying their respective drinks. The only ones left in the game were Simon, who was Negan's right hand man, Lucia, and Negan himself. It was the last round of betting, the stakes were high. Lucia watched both men throughout the game intently, watching for their tells and body language. Simon was an easy read for her. He may be a good poker player, but she could easily see his tells. Whenever he got something good, his right eye would twitch ever so slightly; whenever his hand was dismal at best, he would breathe in and hold his breath for just a second too long. Negan, on the other hand, was a bit of a challenge for her to decipher. He was so controlled over his demeanor, always orchestrating the situation to his advantage, that Lucia couldn't quite decipher his tell at first. Finally, she had see it. The better his hand, the more light she could see in his eyes, the little crinkles curving up just the slightest bit around the outer corners of his eyes. No one else would have been able to see it, but Lucia did. She spent her life observing, compensating for the fact that her world was silent. She became even more aware after the world ended and this nightmare became her reality. She couldn't hear the guns, other people, or the dead that walked among them, so she had to see them quicker and respond better to compensate.

Negan ran his hand through his salt and pepper beard and downed what was left in his glass. This girl fuckin' knew how to play poker. She had won a significant majority of the hands that they played. He wondered what her secret was, what she could see that the others couldn't. And here she acted like she wasn't that good. Oh, what a sly move. And shit, he approved. His hand wasn't the best that game, but he decided to keep rolling, he wanted to see what Lucia would do. Surprisingly, he didn't know much about the woman that he was seated across from. Negan knew most everything about everyone at the Sanctuary, but her, she was a mystery to him. She was a skilled fighter, she was focused, she was an asset ever since she arrived at the Sanctuary a year and a half earlier, and she was Deaf. That's all he knew. That's all anyone knew about her, in fact. Maybe, just maybe, he could get more out of her. Negan smiled, running his tongue over his straight white teeth.

"Well, I say we call this here round. Whadaya got goin' there, Simon?"

The man shook his head, throwing down his cards in frustration.

"I'm out, Boss, I fold. I've got nothin' worth anythin'. Maybe Luce, over here will have better luck."

Lucia set down her cards face up, she had a straight flush. She raised her brow pointedly at Negan, gesturing with her hand for him to show his cards.

"Two pair, darlin', looks like you win again."

Lucia threw him a smug little grin before gathering up her cigarette winnings. She turned to Negan, holding her hand out, wiggling her fingers a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I bet my knife, no need to remind me," Negan sighed.

He placed the blade in her hand and watched as she promptly strapped it to her thigh. She tossed her long white blonde hair across her shoulder, settling back into her chair. He shook his head, that woman was confident, she wasn't trembling in his presence. She wasn't carefully measuring each word and action, afraid that he would show the worst side to her. It intrigued him even more. It wasn't that she was disrespectful, no, it was more that she held her own and wasn't ashamed of it.

"Well, Si, you in for another game?"

Simon shook his head, "Nah, Boss, I'm out of smokes and I don't wanna be betting my shit against Lucia here. If I bet it, odds are she's gonna win it. Dwight and I have some plans to go over anyway and Arat has guard duty in an hour. We'd best be off. See you in the mornin', Boss."

Simon, Dwight, and Arat stood up, nodded to Lucia and Negan before filing out of the room. Lucia made no move to follow, simply taking another swig of tequila while watching Negan. She took one of the cigarettes out of her pile, lighting it with the lighter she kept in her pocket. She inhaled deeply before leaning back, closing her eyes, and letting out a lazy puff of smoke towards the ceiling. She opened her eyes to see Negan watching her with a cocky grin plastered across his face.

"Jesus, Luce, you are indeed a woman of many vices, ain't ya?"

Lucia ran her hand through her hair as she took another drag of her cigarette.

"I indulge from time to time. It seemed like a fine night for a smoke and a drink, so I took my chances."

"Very bold of you, considerin' these are my rooms. None of the others would've dared to do what you're doin'."

Lucia, tilted her head to the side, studying Negan for a moment before answering. "I'm not like the others," she murmured, "and I'll reckon that you just might enjoy that."

At Lucia's response, his eyebrows raised, his hand ruffling his hair. What a fiesty one. No one had dared talk to him like that in years, no one. If it had been anyone else sitting before him with a mouth like that, he wouldn't have stood for it. This woman, this beautiful, intriguing, woman, though, pulled him in.

"Well just for that comment, darlin', we're gonna play a little game. I know next to nothin' about you and I can't fucking have that now, can I? You bein' a lieutenant an' all, I need to know a thing or two about ya. So here's the game: I ask you a question, you answer it. If you don' wanna be answerin' that question, I'll give you an out. Don't answer, you take a piece of clothing off. There won't be any funny business, I can promise you that. I've got my wives for that shit. I ain't gonna fuck a woman without her permission."

Lucia studied Negan's face for a minute, weighing her options. It didn't seem like she had much of a choice, but she could turn the tides a bit. Her stormy grey eyes, studied his hazel ones intently. She could even this playing field. Negan was used to everyone automatically submitting to him, to agreeing with whatever he wanted. She would agree to this, but she had conditions.

"I'll play, but only if you do, too. Ask me a question and I'll do the same to you. Fail to answer, off goes a layer of clothes. And no, you won't fuck me, not tonight at least."

Negan bit his lip, grinning even wider. The balls of steel on this girl was turning him the fuck on. He saw no harm in playing along this time.

"Well, Luce, looks like you've got yourself a deal. Since I am a goddamn gentleman, I'll even let you go first. That mouth on you is gonna get you in trouble. I don't know if I should be pissed at you or turned the fuck on. Right now, I'm both."

She chuckled quietly, shaking her head slightly. "Duly noted, Boss. So, why is that baseball bat of yours named Lucille?"

Negan shrugged off his worn leather jacket, throwing it to the ground. It wasn't something he wanted to answer. Left in his plain white t shirt, grey pants, and boots, he turned back to Lucia.

"What were you before the shit hit the fan and the world went to hell?"

"A wife and professor," she replied.

Negan rubbed his scruff with his hand, nodding to himself. He hadn't pegged her for somethin' like that. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but a wife and a professor sure as hell wasn't it.

"You don't know me, why did you choose me as someone you rely on, someone you trust? You know nothing about me. You didn't start with me like you did Simon and Arat, you can't read me like a book like Dwight."

Negan huffed. Here he was expecting her to throw him softballs, easy questions that he could answer without giving much away. He had been mistaken.

"You've been here what, a year and a half now? You're a fuckin' hell of a fighter, better than most of my men, and you do it without sound on your side. Fuck, you're sittin' here right now havin' a chat with me jus' by readin' my lips. I don't know near enough about ya, but I do know that you're fuckin' smart as a whip an' haven't given me a reason to doubt you yet. Now, that might change, but as of now, you've proven yourself."

"You said you were a wife before all this shit, what happened to your husband? Dead?"

A sly, mischievous grin languidly spread across Lucia's face as she answered, "Who said I was married to a man?"

Negan's brows shot up in surprise. He let out a long whistle.

"Well color me surprised, darlin', you had yourself a lady. That is hot as shit! Fuckin' lucky one to have the likes of you."

Lucia nodded before continuing, "I don't fuck or love based upon gender. If I'm attracted to you, I'm attracted to you, I don't give a shit who you are. And to answer your question, she's dead, didn't make it far in this mess. Had to put her down myself."

Before Negan could reply, she shot another question back at him. "So why do you have five wives?"

He grinned wolfishly, "I'm the king of this fuckin' place, so I might as well have a few women to keep my bed warm at night. Plus, sometimes I like myself a little variety." He waggled his eyebrows at Lucia, suggestively.

She rolled her eyes at his reply. She knew his answer was bullshit, but she wasn't about to call him on it right now. Men and their status symbols. Those wives showed the Saviors that Negan was above them, that he was in charge, that this was his show. Hell, she could get behind that.

"How did you go from a fuckin' professor of whatever the shit you taught to a goddamn warrior with lady balls of steel?"

Lucia chuckled, inhaling more smoke from her cigarette. Slowly she stood up and peeled off her shirt, throwing it on the ground behind her before settling back into her chair with her legs propped up on the poker table.

What a fuckin' vixen this woman was. She didn't even seem to mind playing his little game. Negan was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes on her face and not allow them to wander to other parts of her body. She was shameless, this one, and fuck he loved it.

"You can look, you know, I don't mind. It's not as if I have anything to hide. My modesty was gone far before this world took on its current state."

His tongue danced across his lower lip as he slowly studied the woman before him. She was so relaxed, so open, what a fuckin' surprise this was. Her skin was so pale, alabaster, but covered with tattoos that made a stark contrast on her skin. Negan saw a half sleeve on one arm, while the other was dotted with a few tattoos, including a pinup girl staring back at him from her forearm, as well as a delicate rose. What a fuckin' contradiction those two were. His eyes skimmed lower, past her breasts down to her lean stomach. That girl had some muscle on her, she was anything but weak. He could also see part of a tattoo peeking out on her hip, disappearing down into her jeans.

Lucia's cockiness receded a bit as she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "If you could go back to before all this, before the dead came back to life, would you?"

That was a question Negan couldn't answer. He didn't know what he would do if given the opportunity to go back to his old life. What would he have been left with if he went back? He was alone by the time everything fell apart. He wasn't alone here, not now. He was large and goddamn in charge in a world full of the dead. There wasn't really any winning though, not in this life. Eventually, someone would gun him the fuck down or one of the dead would finally get ahold of him. There was no winning, not for him, in this world or the past one. He took his shirt off, throwing it with his jacket. They were evenly matched now.

She looked at Negan, surprised. That wasn't the answer that Lucia had expected. She assumed the answer would be an automatic yes, of course he would go back to the way things were before. Then again, would she? Some days she wished back to the days in the city, remembering a time where she walked hand in hand with her wife on a beautiful spring day. Other days, she focused on what was in front of her, what was happening in the moment. She wasn't the woman who had fallen in love and gotten married anymore. She wasn't a university professor anymore either. Lucia before the world had ended and Lucia now were two different women, they had nothing in common. She had risen, she had grown, hardened herself like the world she was thrust into. She had thrown away the soft parts, for who could afford those emotions in a place such as this? Lucia was different now, there was no going back, no point wishing it either. She supposed that she could understand Negan's non answer.

Her eyes grazed his torso, he was tanned with lean muscle. That didn't surprise her, for this was the man that walked around with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire, using it on both the living and dead alike. There were tattoos on his torso and arms, a bit faded, but still quite visible. Those didn't surprise her either. A man such as Negan was bound to have ink.

"I don't mind you lookin', Luce. It ain't offendin' any of my fuckin' sensibilities or anythin' like that," Negan smirked, looking amused. "Now tell me how the goddamn hell you managed to wipe the floor with all of us durin' our poker night. Never had anyone do so well on their first go round before."

"I'm Deaf," Lucia stated matter of factly. "I can't hear so I sure as hell better be able to be aware of my surroundings. I've survived in this world and in the last, I've survived because I can see everything around me. I can tell you the names of the first row of books on the shelf behind me, starting with _The Call of the Wild_ and ending with _To Kill a Mockingbird_. You have a taste for the classics, which I can appreciate. I can tell you that the record player in the corner by the door leading to what I presume is your bedroom has an AC/DC record on it right now, my favorite actually. And before you say anything, yes I can still enjoy music and no, I wasn't alway Deaf. Beside this table we're sitting at is a box of poker chips. We could've played with those, but I assume you find it more enjoyable to play for something substantial, something with real value in this world, like weapons and cigarettes. If I can tell you all that, you bet your ass I can read your tells.

"You were the most difficult for me," she continued. "I wasn't quite sure what your tell was the first hand, but then I saw it. I'm assuming it took me a little more time since you live to put on a show. I don't know where the show ends and the true Negan begins; hell, maybe you don't even know anymore. What I do know is that when you have a good hand, your eyes have more light in them, I can see the other corners of your eyes crinkle up, just slightly. You keep the rest of your face controlled, but your eyes, well that's what gave you away. You were a bit of a challenge for me, though, which made all of this even more enjoyable."

Negan stared at the woman, stunned into silence for a minute. Everything she had just listed off was completely accurate. He knew she took in the world differently, but nothing could have prepared him for the things she had disclosed. He hadn't even known his own tell, and yet she had seen it.

He let out a slow whistle before responding, "Well I'll be damned, Luce, you sure know how to surprise a guy. Haven't been this shocked by much since the fuckin' world ended! I don' know if I'm more awestruck, turned on, or scared of ya. Right now, it's all fuckin' three!"

Lucia acknowledged his statement with a roll of her eyes and a smile. She was enjoying herself far more than she thought she would. She took another drag of her cigarette and then offered it to Negan.

"If I'm smoking in your quarters, I suppose I should be polite and offer to share," she said in a teasingly apologetic voice.

Negan leaned forward, taking the proffered cigarette. He took a long drag before handing it back and putting his feet up on the poker table, mirroring her posture, waiting for her question.

"Were you married? Not to the five women you call your wives, but before this. Was there someone?"

Another question Negan had no intention of answering. He didn't talk about Lucille, the real Lucille, to anyone. He wasn't about to start now. Instead of replying, he kicked his boots off and turned to Lucia, ready to ask his question.

She wondered what he was holding back. If his silence was anything, she supposed that he was married at some point or another. She doubted that he would tell that story, though. He had a persona to uphold, after all.

"Were you a mother? If you were all married with the happily ever after and shit, I'm guessin' kids were a thing too, right?"

The was the one question Lucia dreaded, the one she would not answer. She stood up, threw her gun and knives to the ground, staring daggers at Negan as she peeled off her jeans. She sat and stared, not saying a word.

Negan could feel the fury radiating off the blonde woman in waves as she sat clad only in her boots and undergarments. He knew he had gone a step too far, pushed his questioning farther than he should've. So many children hadn't survived, so many had died right at the beginning. He sighed, wiping his face with his hand, frustrated. He had fucked up.

"Aw hell, Luce, I'm sorry, that was too far. I shouldn't have asked. Sometimes I can be a fuckin' dick, I wasn't thinkin'. If you wanna go, you can go, I won' hold it against ya, darlin'. I forget sometimes, where I should be stoppin'."

She shook her head. She wasn't about to show him weakness, not now, not ever. She was surprised that he had apologized. Negan wasn't one to do that sort of thing. She couldn't recall a time where she had him witnessed him apologize for, well, anything. She was done with this line of questioning, she decided to turn the tide.

"It's my turn to as a question, correct?"

Negan nodded, unsure what would come next.

"We can keep playing, but this one you don't get to cop out on. You answer this or I walk away. It's only fair that I have some type of advantage, however temporary, after that last question."

He inclined his head forward slightly, mulling over her statement. He supposed that he could give her at least that after he royally pissed her the fuck off. He swallowed before gesturing her to continue.

"Do you want to fuck me?" she asked. There was no hesitation behind the question, no fear, simply curiosity.

Negan growled, annoyed. "I told you at the beginnin' of all this that I don't fuck women without their permission. Last I checked, you told me that you weren't gonna fuck me tonight."

Lucia stood up, Negan following suit. She looked up at him, challengingly. She was a tall woman at 5'11, but he was taller. She got dangerously close, her eyes never leaving his.

"Watch yourself, darlin', you are treadin' on some mighty fine ice there," he hissed.

"That isn't what I asked you, Negan. Do. You. Want. To. Fuck. Me?" was her response.

"Course I wanna fuck you, doll, have you seen yourself lately? You're hot as shit, covered in ink, smart as a goddamn whip, and have an ass I'd love to smack. You are a goddamn bold woman who is up in my space right now and fuck, I'm really trying to control myself here because I am a man of my mother fucking word."

Lucia reached up, placing one hand on his whiskered cheek. He leaned into her touch, growling in increased frustration. She studied him, watching as his eyes flitted closed momentarily. Maybe this was where tonight was headed all along. Maybe they were going to fall into this, whether they liked it or not. She placed her other hand on his chest, right over his heart. She could feel him suck in quickly as his eyes shot back open, boring into hers.

"I want you to fuck me, I'm giving you permission. I didn't know I wanted this until I decided that I did. If I didn't want this, I'd walk away. I would have left when you told me I could. You can touch me, you know. I'm not made of fucking glass."

"If I start, I'm not gonna stop. I'm not gonna be gentle either. If you want gentle, go fuckin' find that with someone else. I promise I'll make it good for ya, though. I'm not the only one leavin' satisfied."

Tonight seemed to be going quite differently than either of them had originally planned.


	2. Chapter 2

She gave him a saucy smile before she threaded the hand that was on his face up into his ebony hair. He growled again, she could feel the vibrations in his chest. She leaned up, her lips crashing into his. Negan's arm quickly wound itself around her waist, the other snaking into her hair, pulling her forward, closer into him. He guided her while still kissing her back against the wall, they weren't even going to make it to the bedroom. Lucia hit the wall, hard, but she didn't even notice as she opened her mouth, allowing him access.

She moaned into his mouth as he ground his pelvis into hers. She could feel just how much he wanted her. She wanted him right back. As they kissed, she slid her hands down, attempting to undo his belt buckle. A hand stopped her, and she looked up.

Negan grinned at the woman before him, wolfishly. He wanted to devour her, but he wanted to do it on his terms. He pinned her arms above her head with one had, while he undid his belt with the other. His pants fell to the ground as he leaned in, leaving wet kisses and nips in a trail down her neck. When his teeth grazed her neck, he heard her moan. He did it again.

"Oh fuckkkk," she breathed.

He chuckled at her reaction, so that's what she liked. He did it harder this time and then harder still. Each action eliciting an even louder response. She would have bruises tomorrow, but from the sounds that were coming out of her mouth, he doubted that she'd care. She pulled tighter at his hair, urging him to continue. They went on like this, Negan trying to see how loud he could make her. Suddenly, he dropped his hold on her wrists, causing Lucia to open her eyes.

"Take off the rest of your clothes," he demanded.

Lucia nodded, kicking off her boots and stripping off her undergarments, her stormy eyes never leaving his hazel ones.

"Tell me what you want, Luce. Beg for it, show me just how much you fuckin' want it," Negan commanded.

He got closer, invading her space, forcing her to look upwards to keep eye contact.

"I want you to fuck me, Negan, please. I want you to make me scream."

With that last comment, he growled again, grabbing her legs and lifting her up against the wall. He could feel her center, so close, so fucking wet, absolutely ready for him. He crashed his lips into hers, their kisses becoming more frenzied. He angled himself and thrust into her once, filling her completely.

"Fuck, Negan," she gasped. "Don't stop."

That was all the encouragement he needed to keep going. He quickly thrust again and again, pushing her into the wall over and over. Soon, he felt her hands tangle themselves into his hair, pulling roughly. He could tell she was close. His hand went to her clit as he picked up the pace, fucking her up against that damn wall. The more she moaned, the more she begged, the closer he got. He wanted to make sure that she finished first, though. He was a fuckin' gentleman, after all. Negan could feel her walls begin to tighten as he continued his attention on her clit. He pulled his face away from her neck, trying to get her to open her eyes. They opened, looking at him questioningly.

"I want you to fucking ask for it, doll. Ask my goddamn permission to cum," he murmured.

She bit her lip, she could feel herself about to topple over the precipice, but she held back. She knew that if she didn't ask first, there would be consequences for her actions.

"Please, Negan, I- I can't hold it much- please can I cum?" she struggled to get the words out.

"Fucking let go, Princess, cum for me. Breathe in and let it go."

Lucia screwed her eyes shut, focusing on the sensations overwhelming her body. The thrust of his cock, his fingers circling her clit, his teeth grazing that spot on her neck that made her so fucking crazy...she tumbled over the edge breathing out his name like a prayer.

As her walls clenched around his cock, Negan knew he wasn't far behind. A few more hard thrusts into that impossibly tight little pussy of hers and he done for. He came into her hard, filling her up. He didn't withdraw from her, not immediately. They stayed there, against the wall for a minute, both breathing heavily. Finally, he pulled out and she unfastened her legs from around his waist. When her feet hit the ground, she tried to stand on her own, but wobbled. Negan's hands went to her hips, helping her stay upright.

"Woah there, darlin', not so fast. Slow it down for a minute for Christ sake," the dark haired Savior chuckled. "There's no rush, nothin's at your heels."

Lucia looked up, her face changing into a smile that reached her gunmetal eyes. She stood there, not saying a word, simply watching, waiting, catching her breath. She studied Negan's face, how he looked less hardened, more relaxed. His salt and pepper scruff that covered the lower half of his face leading up to the dark hair on his scalp. She looked deep into his eyes, waiting to be dismissed. He had gotten what he wanted, she mused, and now it was time for her to go. It's what all his wives did, anyway. They fucked and then they left. They didn't stay, ever, the whole Sanctuary knew that. All he had to do was say the word and she would pick up her clothes and go. It would be back to work, back to real life for her, just like that. She wouldn't say that she didn't mind that, but this was what she walked into. She knew full well who the man she worked for was and how he operated when it came to women. She had gone through with it regardless, because she had wanted it, wanted him, even if it was only for a night.

He could practically hear her thoughts screaming at him, one by one. He knew that the entire Sanctuary was privy to his habits with his wives. She was expecting to be told to leave, hell, that's what he should be doing right about now. Luce wasn't one of his wives, though. She wasn't simply an easy fuck whenever he felt like relieving some stress. The sex was good, it wasn't one sided, it didn't come with expectations or promises. It was two people attracted as fuck to each other who wanted to, well, fuck. Instead of playing the part of the man who screwed women and sent them on their way, he followed his gut on this one.

"Stay, if you want. I ain't fucking sendin' you packin' tonight. Last thing you should have to do is walk across the entire Sanctuary just because I have a reputation to uphold."

Lucia frowned, a quizzical look painting her face. She found herself nodding in agreement, despite of herself. She walked as Negan guided her to the door leading to the bedroom, her eyes widening as the door opened to reveal what was inside.

A king sized bed sat proudly in the middle of the luxurious room, covered in the type of fine linens one would find in a Ritz Carlton, back before the dead wandered the earth. Everything in this room screamed opulence, but everything had a purpose. The large bay window overlooked about half of the Sanctuary property. This allowed the room's inhabitant to easily see the empire that he had created for himself. The far wall was covered in bookshelves, housing everything from war strategy to maps of the surrounding area to classics in various languages. She could see a desk overlooking the large window, covered in papers, maps, and a large book that looked like a ledger. Also by the window, there were two immense leather easy chairs. They were a perfect to place to observe the Sanctuary...or shoot, Lucia mused, depending upon the circumstances.

Negan watched as the still naked woman in front of him took in the room before her. He had no doubt that she was mentally cataloguing everything that she saw, committing her surroundings to memory. He wondered how her mind worked so quickly, how it took in things that even he didn't see. For as long as he'd known her, Luce was the silent type. Now he knew why. She would be an asset as a lieutenant, seeing the world the way she did. He wouldn't be surprised if she was a step ahead of even him, sometimes. She could find ways out of fucked up situations that even he couldn't seen. He'd watched this smokin' hot woman in the thick of battle before, fuck she was a sight to be seen. So calm, so calculated, so sure of her actions. It was turning him on just thinking about it. He'd have to bring her on the next raid or scouting mission that he went on. This pretty face was worth her weight in whatever the fuckin' currency was in this hellhole of a world. She turned to him, arching her brow, silently asking him what was next.

"Let's get some goddamn sleep, doll. Mornin' comes fast, but I'm sure you already fuckin' know that," Negan remarked.

He slid under the covers of the stately bed, beckoning her to join him. She threw him a tired smile, grateful that she didn't have to walk across the Sanctuary. The bed did look inviting, she figured that it was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in a place like this, so she shrugged, climbing in after him. She settled in his arms, facing him so she could read his lips if he said anything more. One of his arms was slung casually across her hips, the fingers ghosting along her spine. Lucia laid one of her hands against his chest, she could feel his heartbeat, his breathing. It was soothing to simply lie beside another being, not having to worry if something was coming for you in the night. Ocean storm eyes met the every changing hazel ones, sometimes more jade in color, other times more of a warm oak. She watched, like she always did, watching to see how things would unfold.

The dark haired Savior's eyes crinkled around the edges, "Go to sleep, Luce, the world will still be here an' fucked to shit in the mornin'. Might as well close your eyes someplace safe, ya never know what kinda shit tomorrow's gonna bring," he soothed.

The woman in Negan's arms scooted just a bit closer as her eyes fluttered shut, emitting a barely audible sigh. He kept his eyes open, watching her tumble into the abyss of dreams. He didn't do this, he didn't fuck his lieutenants and he sure as hell didn't fuck a woman in his quarters and then proceed to tell her to stay the night. This one, though, she was different, unique, extraordinary. There weren't any promises attached to what they just had done. She wasn't expecting him to do anything for her in return. With his wives, they were guaranteed a life of luxury in the Sanctuary, to not have to labor and toil, in exchange they gave him whatever he demanded of them. He'd never force something on them, but it was an agreement that was made by each and every one of them, with their own free will.

His eyes wandered over the sleeping woman's face. It sounded so cliche, even in his own mind, but she looked peaceful. Her hair was fanned out all around her, the light locks leaving a stark contrast to his crimson sheets. He traced her tattoos with his eyes, they were breathtaking. A mixture of images covered her milky white skin. There where whimsical roses, weaving their way around her entire left upper arm, the pin up girl smiled up at him from her right forearm, with another rose to the side of it. A handful of constellations sprinkled their way across her forearms, as well as multiple sets of script in a language that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He knew that there were more on her back, some on her ribs, and at least one on her hip. He planned on exploring every single one of them with both his hands and his mouth the next chance that he fucking got. As she turned in her sleep, her back facing him now, he saw a sliver of a tattoo behind her ear. Negan risked moving her hair, just slightly, so he could get a better look. What he saw caused him to let out a deep chuckle. Behind her ear was a simple outline of a mute symbol. That girl had a mother fuckin' sense of humor to put that on herself, unafraid to throw in a little satire on her body. What a damn mystery this woman in his arms was. If he played his cards right, maybe he would begin to unravel bits of her soon.

She woke up with a start, breathing heavily. She took in her surroundings as she gripped the bed sheets tightly. The man beside her slept peacefully, thankfully undisturbed by her wakefulness. As much as she wanted to lie here and drift off back into slumber, she knew that it wasn't in the cards for her. It never was. She smoothly disentangled herself from the sleeping Savior's arms, crossing the room to one of the armchairs by the large window. She sat there, curled up almost, watching the darkness around her. She couldn't have gotten more than an hour of sleep, maybe two if she was lucky. The dreams threatened to swirl back into focus, reminding her of thoughts and emotions that she would rather not dwell on. There was a book of military strategy sitting on the table between the two chairs. Lucia picked it up and angled the chair in a way so that she had a view of the entire room, as well as the window. She opened the book and began to read, using the faint light of the predawn.

Negan stirred awake promptly at 5:30, as he always did, languidly stretching his long limbs, shaking sleep from his body. He reached over, his hand ghosting the place where Lucia's body should have been, only to find it empty and cold. The dark haired Savior sat up, wondering if she had left in the middle of the night. He wouldn't have blamed her if she did. What they had done, what they were still doing, had broken a variety of his self imposed rules. Maybe she didn't want to break anymore.

His eyes landed on the naked figure sprawled on one one of his armchairs. She was partially obscured by shadows and the waterfall of flaxen curls that tumbled down all around her. Sitting there, absorbed in a book, with that beautiful contrast of creamy white skin littered with dark ink made his cock twitch. That woman was a fuckin' siren and she wasn't even aware of it. He supposed that she could feel his eyes on him, for she promptly looked up, her gorgeous grey orbs zeroing in on his face. She smiled hesitantly, as if she wasn't quite sure what to do.

"I would've expected you to still be sleepin', darlin'," Negan stated in his rough morning voice. "How long you be up, Luce?"

The woman shrugged, her hands beginning to dance, to communicate silently. "I don't sleep, not really," her hands signed. It was so fluid, so natural, as the words tumbled out of her hands without her even giving it a thought.

"Well how the hell can ya not sleep, angel? What's keepin' you awake?" the man murmured.

Lucia's eyes widened, her jaw dropped in shock as she took in his answer. She looked down at her hands, then back at the man sitting up in bed, then back at her hands. She hadn't voiced anything, she had signed it. A habit she still sometimes fell back into, remaining from a simpler time.

Negan took in her reaction, she looked genuinely shocked, which was an emotion that he had never seen play across her face before. He chuckled at the confusion replaced the shock. He could hear her mind racing from here. He knew that Lucia would have a million and one questions, he figured that he might as well start answering them before they all began to tumble out of her.

"Yeah, doll, I fuckin' sign," he murmured as he threw a cocky grin her way. "Every dirty, foul mouthed thing you've said to Dwight behind his back, every fuckin' threat you hurled towards that garden boy that used to have a tendency to feel up women, every damn time you cussed my the fuck out for givin' you a shit duty...I fuckin' understood it all."

Her eyes grew even wider, if that was even possible, as she took in his answer. Confusion, annoyance, and even a bit of rage clouded her facial features as she sorted out his response. A year and a half he watched her in her silent world and had said nothing. Why keep quiet? Why say something now?

"Why?" her hands inquired.

Negan's face spread into that easy, cocky smile he was well known for before he answered her. "It was fuckin' entertainin' as shit to watch that, especially when you thought no one else knew what you were sayin'. I didn't want you censor yourself, either. I could see your thoughts dance across those damn beautiful hands of yours. Sometimes ya don't say much, but I could at least get a glimpse into that mind of yours when you talked with your hands. Had to at least know a little bit of what I was dealin' with when it came to you. I haven't said anythin' up till now, darlin', cause you never asked, ya simply assumed."

Lucia smirked, nodding at his response, before her hands fluttered to life again. "Fuck you, asshole."

By this time, the dark haired Savior had ambled over to her, in all his naked glory, confidence oozing out of him. He genuinely smiled, one that reached his eyes, as he let out a rumbling laugh.

"Well, I'm pretty damn sure you fuckin' fucked me last night, Luce. Or should I say I fucked you, up against a goddamn well. Gotta say, you are a dirty fuckin' girl and I am all over that shit. So if we're gonna keep this thing goin', which I sure hope to hell we will, I've gotta lay out some ground rules for ya. With me so far?"

The woman stood up, closing into his personal space, urging him to continue.

"Within the walls of my quarters, when it's just you an' me, doll, you can be that sassy, bold little vixen that I know you fuckin' are. You can push me, you can challenge me, you can even disobey me from time to time, I'll fuckin' punish ya for it one way or another, but you can push those damn boundaries like I know you wanna. But when we leave these rooms, darlin', well that's a whole different story.

"Out there, I'm your god. I'm your fucking commander and you will do what I say, when I say it. You are a fucking soldier, a warrior, and outside of this bedroom, you sure as hell better act like one. You break my fuckin' rules out there, I will not hesitate to punish you for your actions, even harsher that I normally would because of what we got in here. You do not get special treatment out there, you work just as fucking hard as you did before, you prove to me that what we got between us won't fuck with our job out there, and we get to continue what we got goin' on here. In here, you are a fuckin' queen and I will treat you as such, as long as you stay within the bounds of our agreement. You give me your respect, you give me your devotion, you give me whatever I fuckin' ask for out there because that's what you're there to fuckin' do. Are we crystal motherfuckin' clear, Luce?"

Lucia nodded, her voice making it's first appearance that morning, "Yes."

Negan grabbed her chin roughly, pulling her face closer to his.

"Yes, what, Lucia?" he demanded.

"Yes, sir," she murmured.

As he let go of her chin, the woman in front of him sank down to her knees, keeping her eyes on him. She looked at him in reverence, showing him that she was willing to comply. She was the only one that he allowed to keep her head up, and not bowed in respect, when she was on her knees like that. The last thing he would ever do was deny her the sight of her surroundings simply to stroke his ego.

He gave her a full, warm smile, his eyes sparkling as he offered his hand to her. She grabbed it, allowing him to pull her from her knees.

"Atta girl, now let's get dressed, we have a long day ahead of us."

 **Author's Note: I figured that I would start by uploading two chapters at once since I have a good chunk of the the story already written. I wasn't even originally planning on publishing this, but I decided that I wanted to share my story. I try to do Lucia justice as a Deaf woman in a hearing world. I am partially Deaf myself and I kept thinking how a Deaf person would have to work to survive in TWD world. Please give me feedback, let me know what you're thinking about this story. I promise that there is indeed a plot to all this, not simply lots of sex (although of course there will be sex). Thanks for taking the time to read! -Kat**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead, this is just for fun. I do, however, own my original characters including, but not limited to, Lucia.**

 **Three Months Later**

Lucia sat in one of the guard towers, keeping an eye out on the horizon. She wasn't technically on guard duty at the moment, that rarely happened since she had become one of the top lieutenants, but an extra hand was needed today, and she wasn't above helping cover a guard shift or two when needed. Plus, it gave her time to herself and allowed her to sort through the thoughts swirling in her mind.

The current landscape was bleak, dead, and covered in a thin layer of snow. She had adored the winter, until the world went to shit, that is. The dead has a tendency to get buried under snowdrifts and partially freeze. That lead to people more likely getting bit by the undead trapped under the snow. In a world where people were dwindling, the last thing that anyone needed was another way to be eliminated.

She was attempting to plan as she watched the harsh landscape around her. Lucia was assigned to a supply run that was rolling out tomorrow and she wanted to be ready for it. This one was her show, she was in charge. It was the first run where she would be pulling the strings herself. She wanted to be prepared, she wanted to be able to get the supplies that they needed and to head back without incident. She knew that they couldn't control what was outside of these walls, but she could control how ready they were to handle the shitstorm of this world.

Negan paced back and forth in the conference room as his top lieutenants settled into their chairs, ready to begin. He surveyed the group, frowning, before he let out a enraged growl. Everyone shifted in their seats, wondering what had caused him his sudden change of temperament. Shit was going to go down, that much was for certain, but no one wanted that shit going down on their head.

"You forgot something," Negan said in a falsely calm voice. "Dwight, do you know what the fuck you all forgot?"

Dwight looked up at Negan from under his stringy hair, shaking his head. "Uh, no Boss."

Negan frowned, running his tongue over his straight white teeth. His free hand crept into his beard while his gloved hand gripped Lucille loosely. He waited a moment, to see if anyone would speak up.

His voice grew louder, giving off a false sense of joviality, "Does anyone in this fuckin' room know what the hell they fuckin' forgot? I sure do, it's starin' at me like a sore thumb. Anyone here wanna wager a guess?"

The more silence that he was met with, the more his anger grew.

"Where in the name of motherfuckin' all that is goddamn good and holy in this mess of a world is she? Did any one of you shit for brains remember that when I called this fuckin' meeting over the radio that this was to discuss the supply run tomorrow? And who is goddamn runnin' that show tomorrow?"

The dozen or so lieutenants shifted in their seats, realizing their error. They all looked around, every single mind racing, trying to figure out how they could cast the blame onto another. Simon, the top lieutenant, sighed before looking right into Negan's eyes which were burning cold with fury.

"It's Lucia's show tomorrow," Simon calmly stated. "The run is all hers."

Negan offered him a smile, it was cold, not reaching his eyes. "Abso-fuckin'-lutely correct, Simon! Glad to see someone in the class is paying attention. So now here's the real question, the pop quiz for today: Where the fuck is she?" he yelled, slamming his bat down on the table.

Davy, a bearded lieutenant with bug like, protruding eyes, answered, "There was a shortage in the guard shift this morning, we lost one to a roamer last night, I got her to cover it. She's in the east tower."

The dark haired Savior's eyes landed on the lieutenant's, he tilted his head slowly, nodding his head. "So what you're fuckin' tellin' me is that one of my top lieutenants, my number three gal, is on goddamn guard duty?! Do you think that maybe, just maybe, she has more important things that she needs to be doin' right now than sittin' in a guard tower?!" he roared.

Davy shrugged, clearly not seeing the problem with the situation at hand.

"You knew where she was. You knew full well that this meeting was about HER RUN tomorrow, and yet you still didn't bother to go fucking get her!"

Davy's eyes looked down at the table as he tapped his fingers on the smooth wood nervously. "Lucia has a radio, she keeps it on. She can feel when it goes off. When it does, she finds whoever is the closest soldier with a radio as well and finds out what's going on. She would've felt it, she should be here by herself right now."

Negan's voice went soft, full of ice and cold enough to pierce your soul, "Are you trying to fuckin' tell me that she should've been aware of our meeting here, Davy boy?"

The lieutenant kept his mouth shut, waiting for the man in charge to continue.

"Are you tryin' to tell me that I should blame a motherfucking _Deaf chick_ because in your sorry little head she should've fucking _heard_ over the goddamn _radio_ the information that she needed to know? Is that what you're tryin' to communicate to me here, Davy? Because from where I'm sittin' that seems really fuckin' stupid. See, you knew where she was. You knew what this meeting was about and yet you still fuckin' chose to disregard that shit and left her where she was. How do you think that looks, huh? Screwin' over my number three just because you don't want to be bothered. I'd call ya a pussy, Davy, but you lack the depth and warmth. You're off tomorrow's run, get the fuck out of here before I decide that you deserve somethin' worse."

Davy rose from his seat, looking terrified and royally pissed, "Yes, sir," he muttered as he stomped out, slamming the door behind him.

Negan turned to the remaining lieutenants. "Now, unless any of you sorry assholes have any objections, I'm goin' to go get Lucia myself since none of you seem to be fuckin' capable enough to do so. Sit right fucking here and I'll be back shortly."

The door slammed a second time as the dark haired Savior stormed off to retrieve his lieutenant.

Lucia was still standing at her post, working out the few kinks left in her plan for the next day when a set of leather clad arms wrapped themselves around her, pulling her into a warm body. She sighed in contentment, leaning into the familiar comfort of Negan. Feather light kisses ran a trail down her face, her eyes fluttering closed at the sensation of the ebony haired Savior's lips and scruff making contact with the sensitive skin on her neck.

"You know," she hummed, "you still can't sneak up on me. It's simply not going to happen, I could see you coming for me."

Negan placed his face in the crook of her neck, chuckling. It sent delicious shivers coursing through her body, for she could feel the laugh reverberate in his chest and feel the smirk on his lips that were currently making themselves right at home in that sweet spot on her neck. She could feel his playful nips and kisses right where he knew she loved it the most. He gently turned her around so that she could see what he was saying.

He gave her a sideways grin, one that made it to his eyes, that he saved only for her. "That may be so, darlin', but you know that I sure as hell am gonna try anyway. Plus, I know that shit turns you the fuck on, don't you deny it." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively before sending a wink her way.

Lucia tilted her head, smiling a she ran her tongue slowly across her bottom lip. The blonde woman could see Negan's eyes grow dark with a hunger that neither of them ever fully satiated. With a flick of her hand, she silently told him to go fuck himself.

Negan chuckled at her antics. That woman always reminded him that two could play at this game. "Why would I do that, doll, when I know full fuckin' well that you'll be there to do it for me tonight?"

She rolled her eyes at his antics, even though she knew he was right. They always fucked the night before one of them went on a run and they always fucked the night after. It was their tradition of sorts.

Her hands moved again, "What's up?"

"We've got a lieutenants meetin' we need to be gettin' to. I wanna hear that plan of yours for tomorrow so that we can iron everything out. Last thing we need is a fuck up, especially since you're goin' for medical supplies. Also, the less gaps in the plan, the less danger that you're in. Oh no, don't give me that damn face, I know what you're about to tell me. You're always in danger, that's the job. Well doll, we're all in danger, but it's best to minimize it if we can. I for one would prefer it if you were breathin' another day. Now, let's be goin', I want to know you've got everything in hand before I send you out there."

They walked quietly across the Sanctuary back to the meeting. They weren't rushed, but their pace was measured and purposeful, every stride taking them exactly where they needed to go. They entered into the conference room, the other lieutenants right where Negan had left them.

"O-fucking-kay," he drawled, taking pleasure in watching the room's inhabitants squirm slightly. "Time for you fuckers to shut up and listen. Tomorrow's run is Luce's show and as such, she'll be briefin' you all on the plan. Her game, her show, listen the fuck up and do as you're told. Questions, comments, concerns and all that shit can be directed at her not me. You know the drill."

Negan sat down and gestured for the blonde Savior in from of him to begin. He was genuinely interested in her plans and what would happen tomorrow. He had assigned her this run because he wanted to push her, challenge her, see her grow as a lieutenant. He knew that Lucia was anxious about tomorrow, but she refused to allow it to show as she began to roll out her plans.

"Our supply run tomorrow will take us twelve miles east," she began to explain. "There is an outpatient surgery center that Arat and I found during one of the runs last month. It looks promising, from what we could see. There are some roamers, but not enough to deter me from saying that we need to go for this. It hasn't been looted because it's more of an industrial area and the building only has two ways in and out. This could take care of us for a good chunk of time. Medicine, medical supplies, surgical equipment...basically Dr. Carson's wet fucking dream.

"A dozen of you are coming with me, Simon, Arat, choose whoever you think can do this job best. You'll both have six people each, a moving van and three Jeeps total. We clear the place of the dead and you have your people grab whatever they can. The three of us have a list from the doc of some shit that is imperative for us to find. There are five women here at the Sanctuary that are pregnant and this world is a shit place to be having a kid. This can give them a real chance. We need prenatal vitamins, a portable ultrasound machine, and a few other things. That's our focus, whatever the fuck else your guys can grab in there, we grab. In and out as fast as possible. Last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves."

Lucia kept talking for an hour and a half, showing the lieutenants the routes that they would use to get there, discussing weaponry that they would be bringing, and who would be the best people to accompany the group. By the end of their meeting, everyone was on the same page.

Negan stood, stretching, with Lucille slung casually over his shoulder. "Well then, I think we're fuckin' done for the day. Meet at the loading dock at 6:30 sharp tomorrow mornin'. I want you back before nightfall. Winter runs suck ass enough in the daytime, last thing I need is you fuckers stuck out there at night. Get the shit we need and fuckin' get out, we clear?"

Everyone in the room nodded at their leader, agreeing. No one wanted to be outside the walls after dark if they could help it. Visibility was even more limited with the snow and frozen living dead were a significant concern.

"Di-fuckin-smissed! Go eat, fuck, sleep, whatever you do before a run and be on your fuckin' A game in the morning," the dark hair Savior bellowed. A sly grin spread across his face as he watched the top Saviors leave. His hand shot out, grabbing Lucia by the wrist and pulling her to turn towards him.

His eyes roamed up and down her body, taking in the sight in front of him. Her lengthy pale curls were escaping from the braid that she had wrangled them into that morning. Her alabaster skin had an ever so slight pink tinge from the cold, giving her a bit of a glow. Lucia may have been covered in a canvas jacket, button down, a grey t shirt, and jeans but holy fuckin' hell she was still sexy as shit. He has to focus or he wouldn't be able to prevent himself from takin' her right on this goddamn table.

"Doll, it's time to wind down for the night. You have fucking planned the shit outta this run, there's nothin' more that can be done tonight. Let's go upstairs."

The woman at his side bit her bottom lip as her stormy eyes met his dark ones. She opened her mouth to try and argue that she could use another hour or so, but a finger tapped on her lips, shushing her.

"Nuh-uh uh, Luce, don't you try to argue with me now. Me tellin' you to go upstairs was not optional because if I keep standin' this close to you with you lookin' that fucking hot, I am gonna lean you over this here table and fuck your brains out right here, right now."

Her eyes grew wide, flicking to the table for a moment before going back to him. She lifted her hands to sign, but Negan caught her wrists, raising an eyebrow. She struggled against his firm grip for a moment before letting out a huff of frustration. She had lost this discussion before it had even began. She knew that he was right, but that didn't mean that she actually wanted to admit that. She watched the dark haired Savior as his eyes wandered, devouring her with only his eyes. She was confident in her abilities for tomorrow, but she was wary about the world outside of these walls. The last thing she wanted was to put good men and women in danger unnecessarily. Finally, she nodded and allowed her Savior to take her hand and lead her to his rooms.

Once the door closed, Negan's lips were on hers, attacking her, devouring hers. This was his show today, and he made it quite clear as he kissed her. He slid his tongue across her bottom lip, demanding entrance. She groaned into his mouth, fuck that man and the fact that he could always play her like a goddamn fiddle. As she opened her mouth to him, he took her bottom lip between his teeth, biting slowly, teasing her. She wanted more and he knew it.

They stumbled to their bed, never breaking contact. Fingers twined themselves in hair, hands grasped clothing, lips kissed frantically. All they wanted at that moment was each other. Negan broke the kiss, pushing the gorgeous blonde Savior back on the bed. He watched her as her grey eyes fluttered for a moment. She tried to sit up and reach for his belt, but he pushed her back down on the bed again.

His hands darted out, telling her what he was doing, "Tonight is for you, let me do the work, darlin'."

Lucia's eyes danced as grin lit up her face. Negan had never signed for her before. Sure, he understood her, but he had never actively joined her signing. She nodded, propping herself up on the bed ever so slightly. Negan grinned wolfishly, peeling his worn leather jacket off his body. He had slowed their pace as he took his clothes off, being intentional about every move. Soon, he was completely naked, clearly turned on, but deliberately keeping his pace.

He then moved to the woman on the bed, keeping eye contact as he took her shoes off, following with her jacket, pants, and shirt. His eyes took in the body before him. She was so fucking breathtaking. Every time he saw her naked, he stopped for a moment. He loved to see the dark ink that swirled across her ivory skin. In the three months that they had been intimate, he still hadn't explored them all. It wasn't simply her body that blew him away, it was how they seemed to match so perfectly. When they were together, it wasn't simply a fuck, not like with the other women he'd been with since the world ended. He didn't want to take it all for himself, he wanted to give too. He adored getting her to cum for him, saying his name as if it was the only thing in the world she knew. He wanted to give her tonight, to exhaust her, to exhilarate her, to get her to touch the stars.

Negan pulled her legs forward, draping them over his shoulders. He could hear her shudder in anticipation. His whiskered cheek made contact with her inner thigh, making her squirm. He could feel Lucia's fingers tangle up in his hair, gripping tight, egging him on. He hovered over her center for a moment, making her anticipate just what he was about to do. He lifted his head up for a moment, checking her face. She mouthed the word "please" before he chucked, his lips finally finding her center.

He played her just like she needed, licking, sucking, biting, eliciting moan after moan out of her. The more wet she got, the more invested he became in his endeavour. Finally, he slipped a single finger into her as he gave her clit attention with his tongue. She bucked her hips, wanting him deeper inside her, wanting more. Negan chuckled while he worked, pulling her closer to release. He added a second finger into her, noting the hum of enjoyment that she let out. He angled his fingers inside her just so, hitting her personal sweet spot, smirking as her hips lifted from the mattress. He sped up the pace of his fingers, bringing her to the edge within minutes. The dark haired Savior added a third finger and hit that spot one more time, leading her into waves of euphoria. He pumped his fingers a few more times as he felt her clench around him again and again, prolonging her pleasure. The sounds that came out of her mouth were passionate and uninhibited. He took fingers out, lapping her up one more time before shifting up to lean over the woman in his bed.

He watched as Lucia let out a languid sigh, her lengthy blonde curls spread out all around her, almost framing her like a picture. She looked so relaxed, so free in this bed, away from the stresses of tomorrow. He wanted to take her, to make her cum once again, but he held off, watching her bask in the afterglow of her orgasm. His eyes met hers, taking in the relaxed smile that painted her face.

"Wow," she murmured. "When you said that you'd do the work, you weren't kidding."

Negan trailed his fingers over her hips, up to her chest, and cupped her face with his hands. "You're so fuckin' hot when you're screaming my name like that, darlin'. When you're ready, I am more than willing to have some more fun with you," he smirked.

Lucia pulled him to her, kissing her dark haired Savior deeply. His scent enveloped her with the smell of pine, smoke, and old leather. He was intoxicating, like a drug that she needed her fix of for the day. She deepened the kiss, feeling him groan into her mouth. She wanted more of him, she always wanted more.

He devoured her lips for a while before littering kisses down her neck, chest, and stomach. He could tell that she was becoming impatient, but he wanted to draw out her pleasure as long as he could. He bit her hip right where he knew that she liked it, causing her to moan out his name. He would never tire of hearing his name on her lips, it was beautiful. He kissed back up her body, nipping here and there on the way, before he made it to her lips. He could see the pleading for ore in her eyes, but that wasn't enough.

"You want me to fuck you, Luce? How badly do you want me inside you?" he enquired. His hands cupped her cheeks, waiting for a reply.

The woman under him looked up earnestly, her face full of desire. "Please, Negan, I want more. All I want is for you inside me."

That was all the encouragement the Savior needed before he thrust into her, groaning at the sensation of being inside her. He never broke eye contact as he thrust into her, over and over. He wanted to see her face, to see her esticay first hand, and give her the chance to see him as well. He knew how much she relied on sight and he wanted to make sure to give her the full experience.

The dark haired Savior watched as her pleasure built, as she begged for more, for him to go harder, to go deeper. If Lucia wanted it, then he would give it to her, he was a gentleman, after all. Finally, he could tell that she was almost there, almost ready to ride a wave of pleasure that he was giving her. He moved her hips upward, ever so slightly, so that he could hit that place of pleasure even better. She gasped, for that was all she needed to be sent over the edge into oblivion. Her hands were tangled into Negan's hair, holding on for dear life, as wave after wave overtook her. She moaned out something in a language that he wasn't familiar with, as he kept his pace, working towards his own release. It wasn't long until he came as well, groaning her name out, as he gave a few more thrusts for good measure.

Time passed as they laid in bed, basking in the afterglow. Lucia's head was on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under her cheek. Her messy curls were splayed out, tickling Negan's chest slightly. They were silent, not needed to mindlessly fill every moment with conversation. The dark haired Savior's hand ghosted up and down her spine, stopping every so often to trace a tattoo or two before resuming the random pattern on her spine.

Eventually, Lucia got up and grabbed the discarded white shirt that her dark haired Savior had been wearing earlier. She shrugged it on and then threw her hair up in a messy bun before settling down into Negan's bed once more. She grinned at the Savior as he quirked an eyebrow in her direction.

Her hands fluttered before her, "Your shirts are soft and they smell like you, so I decided to wear one."

Negan shook his head, chuckling. "You are the only fuckin' one that I'd let get away with that, you know?"

The blonde woman gave him a cheeky smile, "Maybe you have a soft spot for me or somethin'. Don't worry, I won't tell."

His eyebrows raised, "Me? A soft spot? I don't know what you're talkin' about, Luce."

She smiled, but then it quickly faded away.

Negan frowned, looking at the woman beside him who seemed lost in thought. "What's wrong, doll? You've got that look on your face again. And don't you even think about sayin' that it's nothin' like you always do. What's in that head of yours?"

Lucia's eyes traveled across the Savior's face. Should she present her vulnerabilities to this man? Should she dare it? She knew what kind of man Negan was, she knew what she was getting into the second that she stepped into the Sanctuary. Negan could be cruel, merciless when he needed to be. He would find people's weaknesses and then use that information to tear them apart. It wasn't as if she didn't know any of this when she began to do whatever this was that she was doing with him. If she opened this one up, would he use it to tear her to shreds? Would he laugh at her weakness? Mock her?

He looked worried, as if he actually cared about what she was thinking. His eyes were beseeching her to tell him what she was thinking. He seemed sincere, concerned. Maybe she could try it, just this once. If she opened up and this backfired, she would lock the gates, build a higher wall, reside in the silence that she was accustomed to.

"I- I wish that I knew what your voice sounded like. I've been fine being Deaf, in this world and the last, but I watch how everyone interacts with you. You're fearsome, a leader, formidable, and strong. And then I see how you are with me. Your voice alone causes people to bow down to you, to revere you. But with me, it's different; don't bother denying it because we both fucking know it. I haven't yearned for a sound in so long, but your voice, I wish I knew what it was like. It's so fucking stupid and it sounds dumb when I'm saying it out loud, but that's what's on my mind."

Negan's eyes widened in surprise. That wasn't what he was expecting, not at all. Usually, it was one of his wives asking for something, most likely some dumb shit that shouldn't even be a fuckin' concern, especailly after the world ended. He had seen the times that Luce had been troubled with something, but she had always said that she was fine. He thought that she was wanting something or regretting this and was simply too nervous to tell him. Instead, her heart was hurtin' because she couldn't hear his fuckin' voice, no matter how much she wanted to.

"You don't need to hear my voice, darlin'. You can feel it here when your hand is on my throat or when I moan into your skin. You can see it when my lips move, forming words just for you. My words can dance out of my hands when you need them to. You get to see, touch, feel, experience all that you need. You get me like no one else here fuckin' does, in a million ways. You don't need to hear my voice, you've got so much more. And yes, you're fucking right that I have a soft spot for ya, Luce. You don't need to hear me to know that. You see more than anyone here, it makes up for the fact that you have silence instead of sound."

She smiled, genuinely and brightly, up at the Savior before her. He didn't mock her, he didn't use this to tear into her. He was open and honest, something that she had never seen before, not like this. Maybe they did have something here. She didn't know what it was, there was no label on any of this. She wasn't a wife, nor would she ever be. She wasn't a dalliance on the side. So what was she? She was Lucia, he was Negan, and that was enough for now.

Negan reached out, pulling her close into his arms. She couldn't see his face, but she could see his hands. "Sleep," his hands told her. "Mornin' comes fast."

He could feel her nod and move closer, basking in his warmth. He smiled softly at the woman in his arms. Fucking soft spot, she didn't even know how fucking right she was."

Negan opened his eyes, already knowing what he'd see. Lucia was where she always was after their nights together, sitting in one of the easy chairs by the window, looking out at the world. She consistently woke up before him, which was surprising to say the least. Whenever he asked, she always told him that she didn't sleep much, but he knew that there was more to it. He could feel when the nightmares would overtake her every night, when they pulled her into consciousness time and time again.

The thing that killed him the most was when she'd scream out in her sleep. It was always one name, Marta, followed by sobbed out apologies. He assumed that Marta was her dead wife or maybe her dead child. He knew she had one at some point, but after that first night, he had never pried. He never told her that he knew about the dreams that plagued her. It wasn't any of his business and she never spoke of them, so he wouldn't pry. If she wanted to talk, she could talk. If she would rather pretend that she was fine, then so be it. It wasn't his job to coddle her, no matter how agonizing her screams were.

He got out of bed and made some coffee, a luxury many didn't have anymore, before ambling over to where she was sitting a handing her a mug full of the dark substance. She smiled at the still naked Savior, conveying her thanks with her hands.

"Well, darlin', today's the day. Get ready cause it's your fuckin' party. I'll meet you at the docks so we can double check everything before you head out."

She nodded before practically inhaling her coffee and grabbing her clothes. She shrugged on everything but her shirt, opting instead to keep Negan's on. He raised an eyebrow and put his hand out, waiting for her to take it off and give it back.

She gave him a mischievous smirk before shaking her head and walking out the door with a wave.

 **Author's Note: And there you go, another chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you have the time, I'd love to hear from you and hear where you'd want the story to go, what you think of the story so far, etc. Thank you Nicole for your review, so glad that you're enjoying it so far.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own TWD or any of the characters besides the OC character that I have placed in my story. This is simply my playgroud, which I am immensely grateful to be allowed to play in.**

Lucia surveyed the loading docks as Saviors began to stream in, loading up and checking supplies. They would be rolling out soon and getting this run started. It hadn't snowed more during the night and what was on the ground was fairly thin, so she wasn't too worried about the journey there.

She waved Arat over so that she could double check something. "Hey Arat, I need you in charge of making sure everyone is well equipped with weapons and ammo. I don't want to be taking any chances here. Make sure that you keep a detailed list of the shit we're taking from the armory. I don't want Silvia coming after me and telling me that I fucked up the inventory of her armory. I watched Simon fuck that one up, once, last thing I need is for her to be pissed at me, too."

Arat chuckled, remembering when the tiny woman had lost it on Negan's number two. She was a tiny little thing, but damn, she had spirit. There was a reason why she was in charge of the armory. Everything that went in and out of their store went through her first. Surprisingly, Sylvie had extensive military training, so weaponry was her forte.

"You got it, boss lady. I'll make sure it's all good before we head out. I don't want Sylvie screaming at us once we get back. What are you packin', today? I'll make sure to mark you down too."

"I've got my knife and two glocks with four ammo refills in my pockets. I figured that would be enough. Oh, and a knife in my boot, too."

Arat nodded before recording what the blonde Savior had told her. "I'll record and distribute, then we should be outta here pretty quick. We're taking that moving van and the three Jeeps, right?"

Lucia nodded, looking past Arat, distracted by something. She patted the woman on the shoulder before walking away, towards someone that should not be in the loading docks.

Davy was leaning against some of the supplies, smirking. "Well if it isn't the boss' newest whore. So how many times did you have to fuck him before he said that he'd let you lead a run?"

She stiffened up at his words, her eyes ice cold as the bore into him. "Davy, you're not on this run, so get the fuck out and do whatever the hell you're actually supposed to be doing right now. I don't have time for your shit."

"What are you gonna do, call Daddy to come rescue you? What'll it cost ya, a blowie?" he sneered. "It should be me running this show, not the fuck of the week."

With that, Lucia had enough. She turned, punching Davy square in the nose, feeling that satisfying crunch of something breaking under her fist. Before she knew it, he had swung right back at her, flooring her with a sound hit to the cheek bone. She was up again, refusing to allow him to gain the upper hand. She grabbed one of her glocks, pistol whipping him on the side of the head, shutting this down as soon as it began.

"I'm done with this shit, Davy. Go get your ass wherever it's actually supposed to be. You're not on this run, so you're no use to me. That's a goddamn order from your fucking superior!"

Davy opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it, getting down on his knees, his eyes wide with trepidation. Lucia knew who was standing behind her, there was only one person that inspired that reaction, Negan.

The blonde Savior put her hands above her head, still holding the gun, as she turned around and sank to her knees in a sign of respect for her leader. She looked up at his displeased face, nervous about his reaction. He motioned for her to rise, so she complied, still remaining silent.

"Now what the everloving fuck do we have here? The hell are you doing at the loading bay, Davy? Last time I checked I had you on fuckin' guard duty until further notice. Is there any reason that you're here besides stirin' up trouble?"

Davy remained silent, unwilling to argue with the man holding a barbed baseball bat.

"If I were to wager a fuckin' guess, you were tryin' to piss off Luce, here, who happens to be your fucking superior. I watched her tell you to stand down, which you didn't. I'm bettin' that you also had a word or two for her. What did ya do, Davy? Did you call her a whore? Said that she only is where she is because she fuckin' slept her way to the top?"

Davy nodded slightly, confirming Negan's suspicions.

"That's what I fuckin' thought. Sorry to burst your bubble, but she would be right where she is whether or not she and I fuck once in a while. Time and time again, she has proven to me that I made the correct choice with her. She works goddamn hard and does what she needs to do. She's in charge of this run because she fuckin' earned it. You on the other hand, haven't earned shit. You shift blame, you steal, and you take credit for shit that isn't even your doing. You've earned nothing so why the fuck would I put you in charge of a run? The correct answer to that fuckin' question is that I wouldn't. So I want you to think long and goddamn hard about what your next move is gonna be, Davy. I also want you to consider how you talk to not only your superiors, but to fuckin' ladies as well. The world may have gone to shit, but this is my place, my show, and I'm in goddamn charge. I say that you fuckin' figure out how to respect women. If you talk to her like that again, I give Lucia permission to do more than pistol whip ya. Now, I'm gonna give you a few nights in the cells so that you can think about how you're gonna proceed from here and then you're on the graveyard shift at the front gates until further notice. Someone fuckin' get this piece of shit outta my sight, fucking now!" Negan roared.

Two Saviors walked up to Davy, grabbing him under the arms, dragging him back into the building. The boss smiled, before yelling for everyone to get back to work.

Lucia stood by, watching this encounter. She stood tall, refusing to look anyone in the eye, her gaze cold as she watched her leader dole out punishment. She only moved when he gestured for her to come to him.

The Savior studied her face for a moment, before reaching out and grabbing her chin to tilt her face. He examined the bruise forming on her cheekbone, violet standing out against the paleness of her skin. He let out a low whistle as his fingers gently skimmed over the injury. He could tell that it was painful, and yet she made no move to show her pain.

"Well, Luce, I'm gonna go ahead and say that I think he fuckin' broke your face. You should double check that with Dr. Carson when you get back, though, and see if he has anything that he can give you for the pain."

Lucia shook her head, "It's fine, I've had worse."

His face darkened in annoyance at her response, "I didn't fuckin' say that you haven't had worse. I said that you need to go check in with the doc when you get back. That was not a goddamn request, Lucia. Do you understand me?"

She nodded, not willing to start a fight with the head Savior himself. "Understood, Boss."

Negan's eyes softened, he wasn't in the mood to fight. "Looks like you're all good to go. I'll see you when you get back. Be careful out there, we clear?"

She nodded once more, smiling at the man that clearly cared about her wellbeing. "Get the medical shit and get out, we're clear. I'll be back by sundown, if not sooner."

He threw her a cocky grin before pressing a quick kiss onto her forehead. "See you then, Luce. Move your ass, get your guys out."

Lucia turned around, whistling sharply to get everyone's attention. "We're good to go, let's roll out. Faster we leave, faster we get back, let's go!"

Fifteen or so Saviors finished their work and loaded up into the waiting trucks. The blonde Savior threw a wave at Negan before hopping into the first Jeep in the convoy and yelling, "Roll it out, Simon!"

The ride to the outpatient center was pretty uneventful. They only had to stop twice to get debris out of the road, but it only took five minutes or so each time and the debris was minimal. Simon was blaring some rock and roll CD and Lucia had her feet propped up on the dash so that she could feel the vibrations. Her head bopped along with the beat.

Simon looked over at the woman sitting next to him, curiously, poking her to get her attention. "You're Deaf, right?"

She nodded, tilting her head questioningly.

"So how are you rockin' out to this music? I see you boppin' that head of yours," Simon chuckled.

"Can't hear the music, Si, but I can sure feel it. That's why my legs are up on the dash."

He nodded, stroking his mustache. "That's cool, glad you can still enjoy it, especially since this CD is the shit!"

She grinned, shaking her head as Simon went back to singing along with the music.

They arrived at the outpatient center fairly quickly after that. There were a few walkers making their way through the streets, but not enough to cause worry. Thankfully, this place wasn't too far into a city, so there were less dead to demand their attention. The Saviors filed out of the trucks, awaiting Lucia's instructions.

"Okay, so there are two exits to this building: one in the front and the other in the back. I want two of you to each one, the last thing that we need is any interruptions. Keep an eye out for the dead. If they come too close, take care of them and do not under any circumstances use your guns unless absolutely necessary. I don't want to call attention to a horde or anything with the sound. We stay quiet, grab the shit that we need, and get out. Arat and I are focused on a list that the doc gave us, everyone else take whatever you can that will be useful. This place hasn't been cleared out yet, which is why no one has looted it yet. From my estimation, there are probably twenty or so of the dead in there, maybe more. Keep an eye out, clear the area, everyone pair up so that we don't lose anyone. Any questions?"

The Saviors around her shook their heads, all of this had been discussed earlier, so questions had been answered then.

"Okay, then let's roll the fuck out and get what we need!"

She nodded to Simon who busted the door open and signaled to another Savior to do the same on the back door. They filed in silently, closing the door behind them. Simon started making noise to stir up any of the dead that may be in there. They would rather have a heads up from the groaning than walk in completely blind.

Arat stood with Lucia, watching everything unfold. As the Saviors cleared each room, the two of them went through to see if they could find things on the list. The dead were taken care of fairly easily, there were quite a few in the building, but they were so spread out that the Saviors could make quick work of them. After 45 minutes or so, Simon came back to report that each room had been cleared of the dead.

That's when the Saviors began to pack everything up and load them into the moving truck and Jeeps in earnest. Lucia let a grin crack out at Arat as they checked the last thing off the list that Dr. Carson had left for them. This run would provide for the Sanctuary and provide medical care for the few hundred that resided there.

Arat turned to Lucia, waving to get her attention. "I'm gonna wheel this ultrasound unit to the truck and see how much I can grab as far as add ons go. I know this thing needs the gel, paper, and all that crap. I'm just gonna load what I can and see what Dr. Carson can do with all of it. Simon also mentioned that he saw a portable x-ray unit a few rooms down. Should we go ahead and take that, too?"

Lucia nodded at the suggestion, thinking how excited the doc would be to have all this stuff in the infirmary. It would make all of their lives a little better. "Yeah, go ahead and get that stuff going. I'm gonna sort through a few rooms, see if there's anything important. Check back with me when you're done."

The blonde Savior looked around, emptying what she could find and packing it all in boxes to be taken to the Sanctuary. She cleared out three rooms before coming to a door labeled supply closet that was firmly shut. She frowned, wondering why the door wasn't open. After each room was cleared, she had instructed her men to keep the doors open. Maybe they had simply forgotten on this one. She made a note to talk to whoever cleared this hallways about it once everything was packed and ready to go.

She opened the door, looking around. The room seemed to have been cleared of the dead, she didn't see anything moving in there. The room was oddly shaped, almost like the letter L. It was dim, there were no windows in here and the electricity was long gone. It was full of things that she knew the Sanctuary would need, though. Lucia sorted through the bins grabbing everything that she thought they might need. There were boxes of sterile scalpels of all shapes and sizes, suture kits, gauze...she grinned like a kid in a candy store. She was glad that her first run had been medical, she hadn't told anyone but she had been a professor at a nursing school before the world ended. A place like this at the end of the world was a goldmine, one in a million.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. Assuming that it was one of her fellow Saviors, she turned around to ask if anyone had located the pharmacy yet, when she was met by one of the dead. She groaned internally, apparently this room hadn't been cleared after all. Lucia made quick work of the walker, stabbing it through the eye. As she pulled the knife out of the dead, something else moved in her peripheral vision. What she had assumed to be one more of the dead turned out to be three more.

The first lunged at her, grabbing out to attempt to get a hold of her. She swiped her knife forward, but missing it's face. The second snapped precariously close to her face, too close for Lucia's comfort. She shoved it away, trying to get her bearings. She backed up, thinking distance would help her, but she had forgotten about the dead that she had dispatched on the floor. Before she knew it, she had lost her balance from tripping over the corpse. She fell into one of the metal shelving units and sank to the floor.

This was getting too drawn out for Lucia's taste. She could feel blood dripping down her face from where she had smacked into the damn metal shelf. It was time to use her gun. She pulled one of the guns out of the holster and fired three shots in succession, hitting each of the dead straight in the skull. One by one, they dropped, becoming the corpses that they should have originally been if the world hadn't changed.

She got up, groaning. Fucking dead and their need to consume the living. She should have done a sweep of the room before she had set her sights on the supplies. She knew better than that. You trust what you fucking see. What she had seen was a closed door in a hallway full of open doors leading to rooms that had been cleared. Closed equaled not cleared. Don't trust that someone else has already done something, do it for yourself instead. She looked over her shoulder to see two Saviors standing with their guns up and mouths open. They must have heard the gunshots and come running.

"I had a few surprises behind door number four," Lucia mumbled. "When I say fucking clear every room, I mean fuckin clear every room. Got it?"

Both Saviors nodded, not wanting to annoy the woman more than she already was.

"Get everything in that room and load it up. We've gotta get moving here soon. I'm going to the trucks."

When Simon saw the blonde Savior with her face covered in blood, he paled ever so slightly. "Jesus Christ, Luce! The fuck happened to you?"

"Let's just say I made four unexpected new friends in a supply closet."

"A supply closet huh? Kinky," Simon joked.

Lucia rolled her eyes, punching him in the arm. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, jackass."

One of the Saviors posted at the front door ran into view as the two of them chuckled. She looked at the man, inquisitively, waiting for him to tell them what was wrong.

"There's a horde coming down the street."

Simon turned to the Savior in charge, waiting for her response. "This is your show, what do you wanna do?"

She took a moment to consider their options before making a decision. "Move the vehicles to the back entrance, load everything that you can in the next five minutes, and then let's head out. I want to get ahead of the horde if we can. We can always come back at a different date if we need to."

The woman looked at Simon inquisitively, silently asking if her decision was correct. He nodded before turning to the other Savior, "You heard the boss lady, let's load 'em the fuck up and get moving."

Within five minutes, all the necessary goods were loaded onto the moving truck and into the Jeeps. The horde was ambling closer, but still far enough away that Lucia wasn't worried quite yet. She did a count of her people before hopping in the front Jeep and getting everyone to mobilize.

The return journey was just as uneventful. Lucia sat in the front of a Jeep with Simon again, but this time she wasn't enjoying the music. She was busy pressing gauze to the gashes on her face which were still bleeding profusely. She supposed that they must be a bit deeper than she originally thought. She would just stitch herself back up when they reached the Sanctuary.

The gates of the Sanctuary were a welcome sight, even with the living dead chained to them. It was quite a sight, the dead attached to the walls. It allowed them to reside unnoticed by the roaming dead and it deterred the living. There were practical purposes for them, but they still revolted Lucia. Not that she would ever tell anyone that, though.

Negan stood outside with other Saviors to greet the convoy and assist with unloading the treasure trove of supplies that they brought back. He was pleased to see that they were back before sundown and hopefully with some good loot to boot. He waited, not giving any orders, for he wanted to see how Lucia would go about getting the supplies unloaded, sent where they needed to go, and catalogued.

The blonde woman jumped out of the leading Jeep and started giving orders as soon as her feet touched the ground. "Okay, unload the supplies and get the medical stuff to the infirmary. Simon, I want you to stick with it and make a complete inventory list of what we brought back today with the doc. I'll make another copy of it tonight so that Negan can see what we have and then we can add it to our records. Be sure to have Dr. Carson catalogue the meds extensively, I want to know what we have and what we still need.

"Arat, you're in charge of the food related supplies that we found. I need a complete count of all those, too. It shouldn't take too long since most of this stuff is medical supplies. Then make sure that all the weaponry that isn't personally owned is back in the armory. I don't want Sylvie getting pissed because we're missing a gun in the armory or some shit. I'll be back to make sure everything's good, but I've gotta clean up my face. Any questions?"

Simon smiled and shot Lucia a thumbs up and Arat nodded her consent.

"Let's go guys!" Lucia hollored. "The faster we get this shit taken care of the faster you can eat, sleep, fuck, or whatever the hell you're planning on doing this evening."

The Saviors all got to work immediately, wanting to get on with their free time.

Negan grinned at the sheer amount of supplies that they had brought back from this run. This looked like Dr. Carson's wet fucking dream. So many medical supplies, even a few machines had made their way back to the Sanctuary. As far as the infirmary went, they'd be sittin' pretty for at least a year, probably much more.

His grin faded when he saw the blonde Savior walking towards him. Her face was bloody with what looked like two gashes on her face. It could be more, but with all that blood he couldn't be sure. She walked towards him calmly, as if the actively bleeding wounds on her face weren't bothering her. Negan opened his mouth to ask her what happened, but she simply put her hand up, effectively silencing him.

"We' talk about this once I go get cleaned up."

"You're goin' to Dr. Carson, right? Cause those gashes sure look fuckin' nasty."

Lucia shook her head, "He'll be busy with inventory, I can take care of this myself." Her statement left no room for discussion as she pushed by her leader. Negan opened his mouth to reply but was distracted by another Savior calling his name. He looked back to the blonde woman, but she had disappeared.

 **Author's Note: Uh-oh Lucia has gotten herself beaten up a little bit. There's so much more in store for this story, I can't wait to share more. Ideally, I'll be posting once a week, maybe twice if I have time. Realistically, it'll probably be more like once a week right now since I'm busy with work and also nannying for my three nieces. It all depends upon my days off and stuff. Please leave me a review or a DM letting me know what you think. It's always fun hearing from you guys and it helps me get a sense of how you guys are feeling about the story. Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate you! Thanks to Nicole, Faora, and CaseyBrawner for the reviews, they're immensely appreciated! -xo Kat**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the original characters and original situations/ideas in this story. TWD is simply my playground.**

She arrived at her room and began to pull out the necessary supplies to fix up her face. She had everything she needed, now she just required something to look into while she stitched everything up. The last thing she wanted to do was have to go to the showers and sew herself up in front of everyone. She dug around, finally finding a little mirror that she could prop up on her table. She set everything out, getting ready to begin her work, when the light over her door began to blink. She grinned at her self made doorbell, glad that it prevented people from knocking and then coming in. She opened the door, greeted by a certain dark haired Savior, looking far from happy. Lucia stood aside, allowing him entrance into her room.

"The fuck are you doin', Luce?! Go to Carson and get your fucking face fixed, that's an order," he fumed.

"I can take care of it myself, Carson is gonna be busy cataloguing everything that we brought back. That's much more important for him to focus on." She shifted her weight, nervous about the fallout of this conversation. She could tell that Negan was upset and that she was clearly the cause. She just hoped that she could get through this conversation unscathed.

"You can take care of your fucking self?!" Negan roared. "Are you about to fuckin' tell me that you're gonna sew your own face up?"

Lucia sat down, gesturing for him to do the same. She didn't want to become as heated as the man in her room was. She knew the consequences of anger in a place like this, especially when that anger was directed at a superior, or in this case THE superior.

"I can and I will fix my face," she replied calmly. She refused to take the bait.

"I didn't fucking ask you if you could or couldn't do it yourself. I'm telling you that I want your face looked at by a medical fucking professional. You need to go see him about that hit that Davy gave you, anyway." he snapped. He refused the seat that she offered him, instead opting to pace the small room with Lucille swinging.

"Stop pacing, I can't read your lips."

He stopped right in front of her, crouching down to her level. "I want you to go get checked, Lucia, you can't do this yourself. You're a fucking wife and professor, not a doctor."

Her blood began to boil, she was desperately trying to temper down the flames that threatened to engulf her. Try as she might, the words began to drip off her lips. "Yes, Negan, I was a fucking professor. Did you ever think to ask a professor of what? I was a nursing professor specializing in advanced practice registered nursing. The only reason that I fucking taught was because my kid died. I couldn't handle trying to save other kids when I couldn't fucking save my own. And yes, I was a goddamn wife. That wife of mine, she was a fucking paramedic, Negan. We worked in the medical field saving lives and we couldn't even save the life that truly mattered. Then the world ended and here I am. So I am perfectly qualified to sew up my own goddamn face and do it fucking perfectly. If you wanna help me, fucking great, you can let me use your bathroom because the light is better and you have a big mirror. If not, leave me be so I can focus on sewing my face back together!"

Negan raised his eyebrows, stunned at her outburst. He stood up, wiping a hand on his salt and pepper beard. He had expected her to react, but not in such a volatile manner. She was seething and pissed off, he could feel the intense emotions radiating off of her.

"Get up, grab your shit, let's move."

Lucia nodded, gathering up her equipment in her hands. It startled her when a strong hand gripped her upper arm, propelling her forward. She didn't say a word, it wasn't as if she could see his response anyway.

The walk up to Negan's rooms was hurried and uncomfortable, at best. His tight grip on her arm was going to bruise if he didn't lighten up soon. The workers and Saviors that they did encounter hurried out of their way, not wanting to be on the receiving end of their leader's wrath. The last thing anyone wanted was to be an excuse for him to use Lucille.

Once they reached his rooms and opened the door, he led her in, letting go of her arm as he did so. "Go, fix yourself up, then we'll talk."

She nodded again, keeping silent as she made her way to the bathroom. As Lucia washed up, she watched the Savior behind her through the mirror's reflection. He paced, clearly agitated, barking orders into his walkie talkie from time to time.

The suturing process was fairly easy. The gash running down her left jawbone was long and deep, but the edges were smooth, making sewing herself together simple. The gash that went vertically through her eyebrow wasn't even severe enough to warrant stitches. Instead, she simply closed it with a few butterfly bandages. They would both more than likely scar, but she wasn't too worried about it. In this world, scars were inevitable, so there was no use worrying about it. These weren't her first scars, nor would they be her last.

Lucia gathered up her supplies and cleaned them the best she could. She would have to sanitize what she could later and then ask Dr. Carson if he would want her to keep them or dispose of them. She placed everything neatly on the counter before washing her hands. She sighed, she had prolonged the inevitable. It was time to simply rip off the bandaid and have a conversation with the Savior waiting beyond the door for her.

Negan sat at his desk, looking over some papers and maps for a future run. She could see that he was clearly agitated and she knew that she was the cause of it. She felt no remorse for her actions, though, her anger at the Savior in front of her was justified. Nevertheless, even justified anger came at a price.

He looked up and saw her standing before him, quietly shifting back and forth on her feet, waiting for his attention to pass to her. Seeing the stitches on her face, he softened a bit, getting up to inspect them. He held her chin lightly, surveying her work. Her stitches were clean, even, possibly even better than Dr. Carson himself. She was right when she told him that she could take care of it herself. Negan gently ran his thumb across the bruise that had bloomed on her cheekbone, careful not to cause her any pain.

"How's the cheek feelin', doll? You took a hell of a hit from Davy." His fingers ghosted down her cheek, wandering down to her jawbone, tracing right above the wound on her face.

She looked up at him, her eyes studying every inch of the Savior's face before her hands fluttered to life, answering his question. "I'm fine, it hurts, but I'll be fine."

The Savior nodded, deep in thought, before pulling away and sitting down on one of the chairs in front of the window. He motioned for her to sit with him. Lucia took a breath before following and settling down in the opposite chair.

Negan studied her for a moment, taking in her appearance before he began. "We need to talk, Luce, and I think you're well aware of that fact."

She nodded, tersely signing, "I know."

"You can't dig into me like that in a place where others can hear, and fuckin' trust me, they did hear because, doll, you are a loud mother fucker when you get pissed. I don't think you realize just how loud since you can't actually hear yourself. In here, if you wanna let off steam, scream, yell, give me fuckin' hell, I can live with that. But outside of these rooms, you can't do that and you know it. You've gotta follow the rules and the rules are that you give me the upmost fuckin' respect. I can't have you doin' what you did. You understand that, right?"

Again she nodded, staying silent. She could tell that he wasn't finished yet.

"I need you to answer me on this one, Luce, do you understand?"

Her fingers fluttered as words poured out of her hands, "I understand."

"You know I have to punish you, right? I don't wanna, but I have to. Rules are rules and the rules are what keep us alive."

Finally, she spoke, the words quiet, barely audible, "I expected as much."

He watched her for a moment, noting her clear discomfort. She was usually so stoic in moments such as this, but today was different. He could see that her earlier outburst had opened a few new wounds, cracking the walls that she worked so hard to keep in place.

"You were some type of hyper qualified nurse before this shit show, correct?"

"I was an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, for me, that meant that I worked in a hospital and was able to see patients on my own, write prescriptions when needed, do stitches like the ones that I did on my own face...I could do quite a bit."

The Savior across from her ran a hand through his salt and pepper scruff, deep in thought. She could see the cogs turning in his mind as he put the pieces together. She suspected where this line of questioning was going, but she wasn't sure yet. She waited patiently, knowing that pressing Negan would only cause him to take more time.

"Alright, then, I've made up my mind. You're going to be working in the infirmary for the next two weeks. We've got some shit coming up and I think Dr. Carson would be grateful for the extra hand. You don't get to be apart of the shit that's going down, but you will be patching everyone up afterwards. That's your punishment. You cannot argue with me about this one because I am being lenient as fuck with you and you know it. You'll be useful there and it'll give you time to figure out some shit. Get into the swing of things, do your job well, and we can talk about this in two weeks. If you still aren't comfortable with being back in a medical setting, I won't force you to stay. If you feel that you are, then I'll put you into rotation a few times a week and have you run in on emergencies. You did well today, leading that run, so I don't want to completely lose you to the infirmary. So Luce, what do you think?"

Lucia's cool grey eyes met his as she considered what she was going to say. She knew that her punishment should be far more severe for her insubordination, she knew that if she was anyone else, it would be much worse. Her hands moved, softly and smoothly, her signs quite small. "I don't want to, but I'll do it. It's more than what I deserve."

With that Negan stood up, offering his hand to the sitting woman. She accepted, allowing him to pull her up. His hands created words for her, treading into the unspoken territory that they often shared. "You're still filthy, Luce, let's go get you cleaned up. A shower will do us both some good."

Her face lit up into a small smile. He took a closer look at her, really studying the woman in front of him. There were dark circles under her eyes, a sure sign that she hadn't been sleeping properly. He could tell that they were worse than normal, the purple half moons taking over her alabaster skin. He wondered if she ever truly slept, for as long as he had known her, the darkness had been there. His eyes wandered to her cheekbone, where the dark bruise glared up at him. He pursed his lips, making a note to himself to have a little conversation with Davy about hitting women. He could tell that she wasn't eating enough either, her cheeks were slightly sunken in, making her look halfway hollow. He would have to make sure that she was actually eating. The last thing he needed was to find Lucia passed out on the fucking floor due to the fact that she simply didn't eat.

"No funny business tonight, darlin'. Let's get you showered and changed and then we can have somethin' to eat. We can screw around tomorrow if you feel up to it, but tonight I just want a quiet night."

A bigger smile crossed her face as she surveyed the Savior in front of her. Her hands danced, telling him just what he wanted to hear. "That sounds nice. I think I'd like that."

Their shower was quiet, void of any conversation, spoken or otherwise. It was just two bodies getting clean together. As the warm water hit their bodies, Negan leaned the blonde Savior back to wet her hair. Slowly and methodically he massaged her scalp with fragrant shampoo that was far beyond what anyone else had in this place. He worked at her long curls, washing the blood, dirt, and grime out. As he worked, he listened to the hums of pleasure coming out of the woman in front of him. He grinned in a cocky manner, enjoying that his touch could elicit such lovely sounds from her mouth. If he had known how much she enjoyed his fingers in her hair, he would have done it much more often. He leaned her back once more to get the suds out of her hair, keeping her head under the stream of water until the water ran clean once more.

The blonde Savior grinned as she leaned forward, grabbing the shampoo from the shelf. She reached up, tangling her fingers up in Negan's hair and washing him in return. They stayed like this for some time, taking turns washing the other. Eventually, they were both clean and refreshed, ready to leave the safe haven of the shower. Lucia sighed, enjoying the lazy state that she was in, before looking up at the man before her and signing, "I'm finished, ready to get out?" He nodded, turning off the water and taking her hand, leading her out of the small space. They toweled off quickly, the winter chill setting in quite fast.

Negan threw a grey shirt and a pair of boxers in the blonde Savior's direction, she caught them, looking at him with a brow arched in question. "It's useless for ya to put on your dirty clothes and I'm pretty fuckin' sure you don't wanna spend the rest of the day naked. I wouldn't be against it, but somethin' tells me that you might get cold. I'll have someone wash these so that you have them for tomorrow."

She nodded as she shrugged on his clothes. They were soft and smelled like him. She wouldn't say no to wearing his things. By the time she looked up, the dark Savior was in his customary white t-shirt and grey pants, pulling his boots on. She looked at him questioningly, "Are you going out?"

"Just to grab us some food and get someone to clean these for ya. You need some food in ya and I would have to say that I'm pretty damn hungry too. I wanna check in on Simon and the doc, too. I won't be long, make yourself comfortable."

Lucia bit her lip, weighing her options. "I should go back and check on everything, it was my run after all. I want to make sure that everything got done like it was supposed to."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm headed that way, so I'll get all the log information that we need and bring it back up. You did fuckin' good today, Luce. I'll be back in a bit."

Negan left his rooms, making his way through the Sanctuary, swinging Lucille and whistling a merry tune as he went. As pissed as he was that Lucia had insisted on fixing her own damn face, he had to admit that she had done a damn good job. Hell, her sutures were pristine. He could of done much worse than assigned her to the infirmary for a few weeks, but if he was being honest with himself he simply hadn't wanted to. He shook his head, that woman might be right about that soft spot.

 **Author's Note: Well, well, shit went down. Now Lucia has to pay the price. It was my day off today and I was on a writing kick, so I hammered out a chunk of the story. I thought that since I did write a bit, I could share more with you guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave me a review, let me know what you're thinking about everything :-) Thank you for your reviews Guest and Nicole. They're appreciated and definitely fuel the fire when it comes to my creativity. -Kat**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead, only my original characters**

He made his way to the infirmary, standing at the open door, watching the hustle and bustle that was happening inside. He made no effort to draw his second in command's attention to him, nor did he try and flag down Dr. Carson. He simply watched as they went about their work, recording what had been scavenged during the run.

"You know," Dr. Carson mused, "I'm quite impressed with everything that you managed to bring back. Lucia chose a good location, full of quite a bit of medical equipment and supplies that we needed. Do you think it is worth giving it another run over there? Was there more to be taken?"

Simon shrugged as he counted rolls of gauze, writing down numbers as he went. "There were some more things, sure, but we got interrupted by a herd, so we had to skedaddle pretty quick. Lucia made sure we basically cleaned out the pharmacy area, but there could always be more shit that we could grab. We could even get you some of those swanky hospital beds for in here if you wanted."

The doctor nodded, lost in thought. "I suppose that would be nice. If you or Lucia could give me a briefing on what was left at some point, I could tell you if another trip would be medically worth it or not. I have to say, everything that Lucia instructed you to bring has medical value. I wouldn't be surprised if she has some type of medical background, maybe a paramedic or maybe a medical assistant. She at least has rudimentary knowledge of what we truly needed here. I wonder why she doesn't work here in the infirmary, if that is truly the case."

Negan decided that this was the moment to announce his presence. "Well, Doc, you're right and you're wrong," his booming voice causing both men to turn around quickly, clearly surprised. "Luce is an advanced practice registered nurse and from my understanding that could be very fuckin' helpful to ya down here in the infirmary. I know you could use an extra hand from time to time."

Dr. Carson's brows shot up, his lips pursed, as if perplexed by something. He had assumed that she had some medical knowledge, but not to that degree. He wondered why she hadn't volunteered to work in the infirmary when she had arrived here. "Well, I could use an extra hand, especially since we have a good number of pregnant women here at the moment. Would you be able to spare her at all? If she would be willing, I'd like to assign her to the pregnant women to monitor their health and such. It might give them a little more sense of security."

"Well, it's your lucky day, Doc cause that's what I'm here to talk to you about. You've got Luce at your disposal for the next two weeks, after that, I'll need her back in rotation for me. I would be willing to give her to ya two days out of the week and during emergencies, though," the leader of the Saviors declared, leaving no room for questions or arguments.

Carson nodded, thinking over what Negan had said. It would make his life much easier if he had an extra hand, especially since he needed to do inventory daily to keep track of what was used, what was needed, and what they were running low of. "I'm happy to take whatever I can get. I'll be thankful for the help that another medical professional could offer me. When would she be starting?"

"Tomorrow, bright and fuckin' early she'll be here. Look, I've gotta go, if you have any other questions, you can ask Luce herself tomorrow. Si, once you're done figuring out what y'all brought, get that record to me and grab Arat's inventory sheet too and bring it up to my room."

Simon nodded, marking his place in the inventory sheet. "You got it, Boss. It'll be a few more hours, but I'll bring 'em up to you before I go get some grub and call it a night. Anything else I can get ya?"

"Nah, that's all I'm wantin', we're good."

Negan strolled out of the infirmary, leaving the two men behind. He began to whistle again as he made his way to the kitchens. He was hoping that he could get the cooks to rustle up something good for dinner. He passed numerous people on his way, all reverently kneeling as he passed. He never stopped whistling as he waltzed by, not in the mood to acknowledge the kneeling individuals.

Once he arrived at the kitchens, he was pleased to see everyone hard at work, preparing food for the Saviors and those workers who could afford hot meals. A hush came over the kitchens as he entered, whistling with Lucille slung over his shoulder. "As you were, I just need Marco."

Everyone uneasily went back to their respective duties while the head cook stepped forward to talk with the Savior. Marco was a small Italian man, around 60 years old, with grey hair and an easy smile. He was always kind to everyone, including Negan. He feared him, like everyone did, but he still made sure that his kindness shone through.

"Ah, Negan, what can I do for you this evening? Does one of the wives have a special request? I can see what I have and try to make as close to the real thing as possible."

The dark haired Savior shook his head, a sly grin plastered on his face, "Nah, it's just me and Luce tonight. Was wonderin' if you could cook us up somethin' damn good like I know you do."

The head cook nodded thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "I believe I can come up with something for you and Lucia. I'll have someone bring it up to your rooms shortly."

Negan smiled, "That's what I like to hear, Marco. This is why you're the head honcho down here. I've gotta go, Luce will be waitin'."

He nodded at the Savior graciously, before returning to his work and barking out orders for some of the other kitchen inhabitants.

The head Savior strolled around for a bit, wanting to make one more stop before he headed back to his rooms and the woman waiting for him there. He made his way up to the floor that housed the Saviors, taking in the scenery as he went. He couldn't help but grin at his own little domain in this world that had gone to shit. It wasn't a castle, but it was as damn close as anyone was gonna get these days. He stopped at the door with the little doorbell, the one that he knew was Lucia's.

He opened the door, but didn't step in right away. Instead, he pressed the little doorbell, curious to see what happened inside when he did so. The light over the door flickered when he pressed the button, when he let go it stopped. Negan couldn't help but laugh in amazement. That girl had fuckin' rigged herself a doorbell like the Deaf used to have back when the world was sane. He was constantly surprised by this one, which was a new feeling that he hadn't experienced in some time.

He fully entered the room, his eyes taking in the place in a way that he hadn't been able to earlier. It was a decent size for a room these days, much better than what the workers downstairs. There was a twin sized bed in the far corner with a floral quilt, clearly something handmade from a time long passed. A small kitchenette stood to the right of the bed and an easy chair was by the foot of the bed. The leather was slightly cracked in some places, well worn, but still functional. Another quilt hung on the arm of the chair, as if set out for the room's inhabitant to read in warmth there on a cold winter's night. His gaze wandered past the chair to the chest of drawers pressed against the wall and the small table and two fold out chairs in the corner.

To her, this place was a home that she had created. Negan could see how she had made it functional, yet comfortable in the almost two years that she had been here. He took in the books that were stacked haphazardly all around the room. From where he stood he could see some classics, medical books, and a few books on Deaf history. He made a mental note to see if someone could scrounge up some type of bookshelf for her so that she wouldn't have to have stacks of literature littering the room.

His eyes took in the walls, covered in drawings pinned up in no particular order. There were pictures done in pencil, others in pen, and even a few in color. Some were of people, others places, and there were five or so that were signs. There were two faces that appeared again and again in the drawings. One was a woman in her mid twenties, the other a little girl with bright, sparkling eyes and a consistent grin. He assumed that the woman was Lucia's late wife and the little girl her daughter. They were both beautiful, radiant, and carefree, their joy immortalized on paper. As he continued to browse, something different caught his eye. It was a drawing of a graveyard with a small grave as the focal point. The inscription read: Linnea Anne Johansson beautiful little girl, full of love, light, laughter, and joy. There was more, but it was in a language that the Savior could not understand. He wondered if that was the burial site of Lucia's daughter. She had said that the girl had died before the world was plagued by the dead, so it made sense.

He shook his head, he had lingered here long enough. He went to the chest of drawers, grabbing the clothing that he had come for, before turning to leave. In a spur of the moment decision, he grabbed the sketchbook that was sitting on the bed, along with a pencil and pen. He turned once more, leaving the room behind him.

Lucia was deep in thought as she sketched on a loose leaf of paper that she had found in Negan's desk. She drew a house, from a time long gone. She wondered what had happened to it after they had fled the city, if anyone had stayed there after they had left. She was over a thousand miles away from that little house in Boston, but sometimes it popped into her memory. She shook her head, freeing herself of the consuming thoughts of days gone by, centering herself in the present. She began to sketch something else in another corner of the page, once again losing herself in thought. She looked down in surprise to see that she had drawn the face of the man whose rooms she was sitting in. She stared for a moment, before softening up his eyes, making them seem to smile, ever so slightly. Something moved in her peripheral vision, she looked up to acknowledge the Savior that was walking in.

She frowned at the man, looking at what he had in his hands. He had promised inventory papers and food, not clothing and a sketchbook. Upon further inspection, she realized that the clothing and sketchbook were her own, from her room. She looked up at Negan with a puzzled expression.

He shook his head humorously at her puzzled state. "I thought that I'd grab you some extra clothes, just in case the dirty ones don't get cleaned in time. If they do, well, I guess you could always fuckin' leave 'em here for next time. I wouldn't mind. Also, I thought you might want somethin' to do up here, I might read a little later, so I brought your sketchbook."

She nodded, before standing up and grabbing the armful of items. "Are you asking me to leave a toothbrush here, so to speak?"

Negan shrugged as he rubbed the back of his neck, not answering one way or another. He wasn't good with shit like this.

The blonde Savior put the clothing in a drawer and the sketchbook on the bed before turning to her leader once more. She didn't say anything more on the subject, not needing words to signify her acceptance of the proposal, her actions were words enough.

She saw him turn towards the door, as if he had heard something. She supposed that there was a knock at the door. It opened to reveal a lanky young man, no more than twenty, holding two trays of food. Words were exchanged between the young man and Negan, though she couldn't understand them since they were turned away from her. The man scurried to the desk, setting the trays down before practically running out the door. He paused and turned back to Negan, who was once again talking and holding out the bundle of dirty clothes from earlier that day. The man nodded, grabbing the clothing before scurrying away once more.

The blonde woman smirked, a soft laugh escaping her lips. Negan turned to her, raising an eyebrow in her direction, questioning her laugh.

"What the hell did you do to that poor kid? He looked scared shitless."

The Savior chuckled, leading them over to the desk where the food was waiting. "He should be scared shitless in my presence. Haven't had a one on one with the little punk before, so I'm guessin' he's new. A small dose of fear works wonders. Also, I think he saw Lucille for the first time up close and personal on my desk and it scared the fuckin' holy hell outta him. Now come on, Luce, I'm fucking starving. I doubt that you've eaten today, so dig in."

As she sat, Lucia looked appreciatively at the food set before her. There was chicken, potatoes, vegetables, even freshly baked bread still steaming on her plate. She hummed appreciatively as she ate, unaware how hungry she truly had been. They ate in silence as the woman practically inhaled her food. Within minutes, her plate was clean and she was eyeing some of the food on her fellow Savior's plate. He was taking his time, clearly not as ravenous as she had been.

He looked up, amused at her puppy dog facial expression. "You want somethin', Luce?"

The blonde woman bit her lip apprehensively, unsure if she wanted to ask.

"You still hungry, honey?" Negan murmured.

She nodded timidly, wondering if she was about to get teased for her appetite.

The Savior smiled, pushing his plate towards her, shaking his head as she dug into the remainder of his food. He wondered when the last time was that she'd eaten a proper meal. He knew that she had the tendency to let things like eating slide when she was focused on something, but he didn't want her to neglect herself because of her focus. She finished quickly, looking a bit sheepish once his plate too was bare.

"Looks like you had a big fuckin' appetite tonight, Luce. When was the last time that you actually had a full meal?"

She frowned thinking a moment, before shrugging. She didn't know, her hands told him.

"You are a fuckin' Savior, doll. That means you are guaranteed three hot meals every goddamn day and you don't have to pay in points for them. You earn that shit by all that you do, especially today with that run of yours. You earn what you take and you've fuckin' earned that. Why aren't you takin' advantage of that?" the dark haired Savior pressed. He was slightly worried about her wellbeing, even he could admit that. He needed her to be in top shape if she were to do her job correctly. There were other reasons, too, but he wasn't ready to mention that just yet, not even to himself.

Lucia shrugged once more, this time giving him neither a spoken or signed reply.

"I need you on the top of your game, you know that. I need to know that you can handle what I'm throwin' at ya and you can't fuckin' do that if you're not eating. I don't care if you don't feel hungry, try to eat anyway. I don't want to find you passed the fuck out somewhere because you forgot to eat. Understand?"

The woman across from him quietly toyed with her hair, watching what he was telling her. She didn't interrupt, she didn't argue, she didn't try to defend herself. She knew he was right, how could she be the best if she wasn't nourishing herself. She nodded, before her hands fluttered to life, "I'll do better."

Negan nodded, satisfied that he had gotten his point across. He wondered if he could push a little further, get farther into her head. He had questions and wanted answers, but he knew that if he pushed Lucia too hard, her walls would go up again.

"So, do ya wanna tell me about your little outburst today?" he inquired.

He could see her visibly stiffen, as if he had hit her with a physical blow. Her grey eyes bore into him, the ice in her pale orbs apparent. She was not going down this road of discussion tonight. Before he had a chance to say anything else, there was a curt knock at the door. He yelled for the visitor to enter before getting up to great them.

Lucia turned to see Simon stroll in with a stack of papers and a thick book in his hands. He nodded in acknowledgement to the blonde woman before turning to Negan. "Here's all the inventory stuff that you wanted, Boss. I brought up the ledger too since I figured you'd want your nightly readout of the numbers."

Negan took the stack from the Savior, thumbing through everything. "Yeah, thanks, Si. Luce and I can go over the fuck ton of new inventory, see what goodies you all brought home. Take these trays back to the kitchen for me and you're done for the night. I know a few ladies lookin' to shack up with ya now that you're back. I'll see you in the AM to go over everything for what's next."

The Savior stroked his mustache as his listened before grabbing the trays and heading out. He called something back at his boss, who let out a gruff laugh in response as the door closed.

Negan turned back to the pale woman who had quietly moved to his bed while he was talking to his right hand man. They were alone in the room once more, many unspoken emotions swirling in both of their eyes.

"So, inventory?" the blonde woman murmured, scooting over in the bed to give Negan a space to sit.

He sighed, realizing that their previous conversation was effectively over. He would try with her some other time. He sat down on the bed and laid the inventory sheets out on the bed and began to go over them with her. He was stunned to find that Lucia had managed to get a hold of a portable x-ray machine and an ultrasound machine, both with everything needed to make them functional. The blonde Savior then went on to go over every medication she managed to bring back, what they were used for, and how they should be rationed. Negan listened to all this without interrupting her, impressed at her vast knowledge of the medical field. He knew Dr. Carson would find her extremely useful.

Eventually, they finished going over the inventory sheets for everything that had come in that day and the leader of the Saviors moved on to going over the ledger. It contained everything of importance to the Sanctuary: workers names, the number assigned to them, their jobs and point statuses, what was bought and sold at their makeshift market and who acquired it, who visited the infirmary, what was done and what was used on them...the list was endless. Negan was known for being able to know all the comings and goings of the Sanctuary from new arrivals, to illnesses, to how well the workers did their jobs. The ledger was a part of his network, but it was simply a cog in the vast machine of knowledge that he possessed.

Lucia had transitioned to sketching in the book that Negan had brought up from her room. She kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt the Savior's work. It wasn't long before her eyelids began to droop and her head fell back on the stack of pillows that were keep her upright. While the man next to her continued his work, she drifted off into slumber.

The dark haired Savior finished examining the ledger, closing it firmly. He rubbed his salt and pepper scruff as the new information began to process in his mind. Eventually, he turned to look at the woman next to her, surprised to find that she was sound asleep with a pencil still in her hand and the sketchbook resting on her lap. He smiled softly, shaking his head. She looked so young when she slept peacefully, as if the weight of the world wasn't resting upon her shoulders.

He set the ledger down on his nightstand before slowly getting up, trying not to disturb the sleeping woman as he did so. He quickly kicked off his boots, pants, and jacket before he made his way to her side of the bed. He gently took the pencil from her grasp and grabbed the sketchbook to put on the nightstand. Negan looked down at the drawing, surprised to see his own face staring back at him. In the picture, he was smirking, as if he was about to do something mischievous. He made a note to ask the sleeping woman about it later as he placed the book on the nightstand.

Ever so slowly, the dark haired Savior scooped the woman up into his arms, careful not to jostle her awake. He peeled back the covers and adjusted the pillows, placing her back on the bed. He wrapped her in the blankets as her eyes fluttered open. She looked at the man in front of her, her eyes struggling to focus since she was still half asleep.

"Sleep, Luce," his hands told her. "All is well."

She nodded her eyes drifting closed once more as she signed, "Come to bed soon."

Negan smiled softly as he crawled back into bed and turned off the light. His eyes traced the outline of the sleeping woman, still visible by the moonlight. This woman, wearing his clothes, fast asleep in his bed...well damn. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She was only supposed to be another fuck, another distraction, something to relieve stress and take his mind off things. He wasn't supposed to end up _feeling_ anything for this beautiful, intelligent, damaged Savior. She wasn't supposed to get this close, and yet here they were, three months later. He hadn't felt anything significant in years, before this world became a shit show. The world had ended and he shut down, closed it all off, assumed that there was a marked end to him ever feeling anything close to what he had felt with Lucille. And yet, here Luce was, chipping away at him, getting a look inside, all without even trying.

 **Author's Note: So sorry it's been a bit, it's been hectic balancing my regular job on top of nannying for my nieces. To make it up to you, I'm updating two chapters today! This one now, and the next one when I get home this evening. Hope you enjoyed this one and what you discovered about both Lucia and Negan. Many thanks to Nicole, goonimpressanangel, and PropertyOfNegan7 for leaving me a review, I appreciate it. If any of you want to give me imput or anything, please review and let me know! It's great to hear what my readers think. xo Kat**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead. All I own are my original characters and my original storylines :-)**

 _A dark haired woman and a little girl with blonde curls ran in front of her. Try as she might, she couldn't catch them. No matter how she yelled, begged, pleaded, they wouldn't slow down. The child turned towards her, smiling. "I love you, Mommy," her tiny hands told her. "I miss you." A piece of paper fell from the woman's hand, fluttering to the ground. Lucia reached down, grabbing it, before she looked up once more. They were gone._

 _She was alone in the graveyard, the mist swirling around her. Her head turned back and forth, looking for any sign of the ones who had disappeared. She recognized this place, she realized. It was where she buried her daughter, a place that she would never see again in her lifetime. She looked down at the paper, the handwriting beautifully slanted and familiar. "We go somewhere that you cannot follow," it said. "Live, fight, feel, for you are not one of the dead. Do not freeze your heart, my love. Do not live your life surrounded by ice. I am with her, she is not alone, she is not afraid, there is peace here. Live, Lucia, succeed. This world, it's a mess, but I know you can flourish, despite it all." A phrase ghosted in her mind, words that she had not heard in a log time, "I love you."_

Lucia's eyes shot open, her breathing erratic. The dream filled her mind, consuming every corner of her waking consciousness. She had dreamt about them before, almost nightly, but this time it was different. There was no death or dying, she wasn't reliving their last moments over again. No, this was bittersweet. This was a proper farewell and it confused her. She turned, looking at the digital clock on the nightstand, it read 5:00. She turned to the Savior beside her, his eyes were closed, breathing deeply, still in the throws of slumber. She knew that he would wake up soon, 5:30 on the dot every single day.

The blonde woman slid silently out of bed and padded across the floor to one of the adjoining rooms. She made coffee, a mug for him and a mug for her, knowing that he would want some when he woke up for the day. She set one mug down on the nightstand beside Negan and held the other while she perused the selection of books that Negan had in his bedroom. She grabbed one with detailed maps of the surrounding area, so that she might get an idea of the places that they could search for more supplies. She might be assigned to the infirmary for the next two weeks, but she refused to allow herself to be completely isolated from what was going on outside of these walls.

As she looked through the maps making notes in pencil, she saw the king of the Saviors begin to stir. She watched as his eyes opened to the world and met hers, a sleepy grin on his face. She put down her pencil, her fingers weaving words, "I brought you some coffee, drink up."

He hummed in appreciation, sitting up and reaching for the mug. He drank in silence until he had drained all of the liquid. He would need more coffee than just that mug to get through the day. There was a laundry list of things to do, people to see, and situations to take care of. Once his mug was refilled once more, he made his way over to Lucia to see what she was up to. The moment he saw the book full of maps in her hand, he tapped on it's pages to get the blonde Savior's attention. She looked up, arching an eyebrow and waiting for him to continue.

"When I said that you were confined to the infirmary for two weeks, I meant it, darlin'. Not recon, no runs, no planning, nothing. Actions have consequences, especially in this world, and these consequences are yours." his hands told her.

Lucia huffed in frustration, closing the book and putting it back on his desk. She grabbed her mug, stewing a little. She flipped him off for good measure before looking out the window at the grounds below. Her attention was redirected when a hand gently cupped her cheek and uninjured side of her jaw.

"Two weeks, Luce, that's it. Then you're back to the fun stuff. I know you're fuckin' scared shitless to be headin' back into medicine, but you gotta rip off the bandaid at some point. And if bein' a little pissed at me keeps the nerves away, then by all means, go right ahead. Ain't the first time you've been pissed at me and it sure as hell won't be the last."

She softened a bit, even though she was still clearly frustrated. She smiled softly, leaning into his touch. As annoyed as she was with the entire situation, his words were comforting, in a way. He was telling her that she was allowed to feel what she felt, that her anger and frustration was valid, and she appreciated it.

"It's time for me to go," her hands told the Savior. I've got work to do.

As she made her way down to the infirmary, Lucia's anxiety grew. Every step she took was more painful than the last, but she refused to show it. She moved with authority, precision, and a keen awareness of her surroundings. She sealed up her dread, locking it away to be dealt with at a later date. She had a job to do and she would be damned if she didn't do it well.

The blonde Savior spent most of her day acquainting herself with the infirmary and conducting exams on all of the pregnant patients. It made her heart swell to see each woman experience getting an ultrasound, something that was to be celebrated in this shit show of a world. She took her time with each of them, showing the women their babies and giving them a picture to take back with them. With Negan's blessing, she had even started all the women on prenatal vitamins so that they and their babies would be healthy and strong.

Late in the afternoon, Dr. Carson felt comfortable enough to leave her in charge while he took time to go eat and get some other work done in other parts of the Sanctuary. Lucia didn't pry as to what he was doing, it wasn't her business and she didn't really care.

She was preoccupied with putting together records for the pregnant patients when a tap on her shoulder snapped her back into the present. She turned around to see a woman standing before her, fidgeting with the hem of her black dress. The Savior stared at her for a moment, taking in her appearance. The woman had long flaxen hair and big blue eyes, she looked so young, so vulnerable, as she stood there. She was wearing an extremely short black dress and heels. As Lucia studied her, it clicked, this woman was one of Negan's wives.

"Um, I was looking for Dr. Carson, could you get him for me?" the woman asked timidly.

The blonde Savior sighed, the last thing she wanted was to interact with the wife before her, but she saw no other choice. She had tried her best to keep her distance from these women, she had never even met one of them, that is until today.

"He's not in right now, unfortunately. I'm more than happy to assist you with whatever you need, though. I can assure you I am medically trained and qualified."

The woman bit her lip and shifted on her feet. She looked as if she was about to hightail it out of there as fast as she could.

"I don't know...it's just that, you're well...and I'm..."

A moment of understanding hit Lucia, she knew what this woman was worried about. "You're worried because you're a wife and I'm whatever I am to Negan, aren't you?"

The woman nodded, not saying a word.

"In this building, I am a medical professional first and foremost. I will not discuss your visit with him or anyone else that doesn't need to be in the know. I may discuss you with Dr. Carson, but that would only be if I needed his medical expertise for something that was over my head. I am more than happy to help you with whatever you need. The only thing that Negan gets from here is the inventory log at the end of the night that records what has been used, who used it, and how many points it cost that individual. Obviously, you don't have to worry about the point system since you're not on it, so it'll just be a list of what was given to you and you'll sign for it. That's it, I'm not going to go running to Negan and tell him anything. That's not my job. I'm just here to help. We haven't properly introduced ourselves, my name is Lucia Johansson."

She stuck out a hand, waiting for the woman to shake it. It took her a moment, but she responded in kind, placing her hand in Lucia's.

"I'm Amber."

The handshake was short and Amber didn't seem to be putting much effort into it, but a shitty handshake was better than no handshake, the blonde Savior mused.

"So, take a seat on this table and we can get started. What seems to be bothering you?"

Amber sat on the examination table and once again began to fidget with her dress. Her eyes refused to meet the blonde Savior's, instead darting from place to place.

"I think I might be pregnant and I need to be sure one way or another."

Lucia sure hadn't been expecting that, but she didn't miss a beat. "Okay, well let's start with the basics. I'll give you a pregnancy test which you can take in the bathroom right over there and then I can do just a quick exam while we wait for the results. I'll just listen to your heart, take your blood pressure, stuff like that. I just want to make sure the basics are all good before anything else."

The woman nodded, still not making eye contact. She really wasn't one for conversation, the Savior observed.

She handed Amber the test and guided her to the bathroom, then she began her initial exam. The woman seemed to be in good health, if not a little underweight.

"Well, you seem to be in overall good health, so you're all good there. Let's take a look at that test."

She picked up the test, revealing a negative sign. She could see the wife visibly exhale in relief. Lucia couldn't blame her, this was a frightening new world and most of the comforts of pregnancy from the way the world had been were nonexistent now. The woman still seemed nervous and skittish, but a little less than before.

"Unless you need anything else, you're good to go, Amber. If I could just please have you sign here for the pregnancy test, we will be good to go."

The wife looked up, panic in her eyes. "I- I can't sign for that. Since you came along, Negan's attention has been mostly on you. Negan and I haven't- well, I just can't sign for it."

Lucia's mind was racing, trying to understand. What this woman was trying to tell her was that she couldn't sign for the pregnancy test because she hadn't been having sex with Negan recently. She must be so jumpy and worried that she was pregnant because she was sleeping with someone else. If she had been pregnant, that baby wouldn't have been Negan's.

The Savior raked her curls back with one hand while she tried to make up her mind. She couldn't just not put the pregnancy test in the logs, eventually they would come up short in inventory and it would be her ass or Dr. Carson's on the line. She had no desire to pull the doctor into this trouble, he didn't deserve that. If Amber signed for it, Negan would be guaranteed to see it tonight when he went over everything. She knew what the rules were, if you were Negan's wife, you had to be faithful. If you weren't, there were punishments for both yourself and the other party. How could she go about this? What could she do?

Once Lucia decided, she squared her shoulders and turned back to Amber, her cold mask covering her true emotions. "What I am about to do for you I will do once and only once. I will sign for the test, as if I took it myself. I have a few conditions for this, though. If I do this, you have two options: you stop fucking around with whoever the hell you're fucking around with so that you don't end up in this situation again or you be more goddamn careful. If this happens again, I will not cover for you, you will be on your own. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, but I do want you to know that you're walking along a dangerous cliff. The last thing I want is to have to take care of some poor bastard that got half of his fucking face ironed off because you simply were not careful and couldn't stay fucking faithful. I'm not judging you for being stupid, but you are being stupid. You know who runs this place, you know how he operates, you know better than this. You made a choice by being a wife, you knew the terms and conditions. Negan can be ruthless and if this happens again and he finds out, which you know he will, people are gonna get hurt. I won't stand between him and his goal because I fucking know better than that. Are we clear, Amber? Do you understand what I am telling you?"

The wife nodded, tears in her eyes.

"Dry your tears, clean yourself up. The last thing either of us needs is for you to leave here crying. The Sanctuary has many eyes and as a wife, those eyes will be on you. If anyone ever asks, even your fellow wives, you were here because you were feeling very fatigued because you were iron deficient. I told you to eat more foods with iron in them on a consistent basis and you went on your way. That's it, that's why you were here."

Amber wiped her eyes and got off the table, she straightened her dress for good measure before looking straight at Lucia for the first time the entire visit. "Thank you, Lucia."

The blonde Savior shook her head, "I don't want thanks, just don't get into this situation again. I will not save you next time."

As Amber left the infirmary, the Savior shook her head. Her first day back in the medical field and she had to deal with a wife; that was the last thing she ever wanted. There was a reason that she kept her distance from the wives, she had no desire to be involved with them. She didn't want to be a wife and she sure didn't feel the need to associate with them. They all made the decisions that they had for various reasons and Lucia assumed that they were good reasons, but she didn't appreciate the lives that they lived. Everyone else here had a purpose, a job, a reason to be here. Each worker and Savior contributed to life here in the Sanctuary, everyone besides the wives. She raked a hand through her long curls, maybe she was just being petty, this wasn't worth the time and mental effort she was pouring into this subject. There was a reason for everything that Negan did and she wouldn't start questioning it now. She huffed as she signed for the pregnancy test, clearly putting her name followed by initials. It was done, so there was no use dwelling upon it further.

The rest of the day passed by in an uneventful manner. Lucia patched up a few minor injuries, but nothing major or exciting. By the time seven in the evening came, Dr. Carson was ready to lock up and call it a day. They parted ways, the doctor leaving her with the logs to bring up to Negan later that night. There hadn't been much conversation between the two of them throughout the day, but she hadn't minded. She had a sneaking suspicion that Carson couldn't quite figure out what to make of her deafness, but it hadn't been the first time someone had made that into a roadblock. She would simply have to allow her medical talent to shine. For now, the silence was fine.

She trudged up the stairs to Negan's rooms, hoping to drop off the logs and go. Her mind was tired and she could use some sleep, if she could get it. Once she reached his rooms, she knocked on the door before announcing herself. She had no way to tell if anyone ever responded, so she simply opened the door. The rooms were deserted, Negan nowhere to be found. She placed the logs on his desk before hurrying out.

Her next objective was a shower. Even just a few minutes of lukewarm water would do wonders. She grabbed her toiletries from her room and made her way to the women's showers. Since she was a Savior, she was allotted fifteen minutes instead of the seven that workers got. She sighed contentedly as the water washed over her body, carrying away the stress of the day. The Savior made quick work of her shower, she had no desire to dwell today. She had seen the whispers and the looks that had been thrown her way all day. The Sanctuary knew why she was working in the infirmary and she was sure that she was gossip for the place. It wasn't the first time, either.

When she had first arrived, there had been so much curiosity about the Deaf girl that had survived the end of the world. As she rose up the ranks, the curiosity grew. She had never been overly social at the Sanctuary, not wanting to interact with people simply because they were curious about her. The stares and whispers were something she simply learned to ignore. The less she acknowledged it, the better.

Once she was finished, she made her way back to her room to eat something and then sleep. She didn't feel very hungry, but she knew that Negan was right when he told her that she needed to eat more.

When she opened the door to her room, she was surprised to find the very Savior that had been occupying her thoughts sitting at her table. Lucille was propped against the wall and the logbook was open to today's entries. She froze, realizing that he must have read a certain entry with her name attached to it.

 **Author's Note: Oh dear, oh dear, I wonder how this will play out. I tried to get this out a few days ago, but my word, I got hit with the worse stomach flu that I've ever experienced. My sister, her husband, and all my nieces got it and I was dumb enough to think that I wouldn't get it too, even though I take care of the kids every afternoon...silly me! I'm not back to normal just yet, but I'm MUCH better than I was. So what did you guys think of this chapter? I know the site has been down today, so fingers crossed that this can get to you guys. Drop a review if you're in the mood, I would greatly appreciate it. I am genuinely curious about what you guys think of what's happening. -xo Kat**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own TWD, all I own is my original characters and my storylines.

"Well are ya just gonna stand there, Luce, or do you plan on comin' in?"

Slowly, Lucia inched her way in, closing the door behind her. She set her toiletries on the bed before sitting with Negan at the table. She folded her hands and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I was just lookin' through the infirmary logs for the day. Everything seemed just peachy fuckin' keen, unil I stumbled upon one particular entry, an entry with your name on it. So, Lucia, do you have somethin' that you wanna fuckin' tell me?"

The Savior could tell that this was all Negan as he presented himself to the world, all part of the show that he put on.

"I missed a period and thought it would be best to take a pregnancy test, that's all." her hands told him.

"And?" Negan pressed.

"And nothing. It was negative. The world went to shit and I started missing periods for months at a time, which doesn't really surprise me. I missed one and I thought it would be best to double check, just to be sure. It's not as if you and I are being very careful, Negan. I wanted to be sure one way or another either way."

The lie flowed out of her mouth easily, much easier than she had anticipated. It was partially true, at least as far as the fact that missed periods were not uncommon for her after everything had happened. She felt no remorse, for she knew that she was sparing everyone involved from consequences. She simply hoped that Amber would wake the fuck up and be more careful. It still baffled her that she was covering for a woman that she barely knew, but it wasn't worth dwelling on. Maybe she wasn't completely encased in ice after all.

The Savior across from her studied her face, taking in the words that she told him, trying to discern if she was indeed telling him the truth. He waited a beat after she had finished talking before murmuring, "And if it was positive? Would you have told me?"

"Would you have wanted to know? It's not as if I'm anything to you, I'm not a wife. I doubt you would have been very happy if I was actually pregnant," she countered.

Negan frowned, troubled at her words, frustrated with how coldly she laid everything out. "Do not presume to know what I feel, Luce. I don't know what I'd fuckin' feel or not feel, but I wouldn't be done with you if you got pregnant with my kid, I wouldn't throw you away. And you are not nothing to me, you understand? You're not disposable."

He stood up and pulled Lucia to her feet, bringing her flush against him. She could feel his arousal pressing against her thigh. His hazel eyes bore into her grey ones as he murmured, "You mean somethin' to me, Lucia Johansson."

She tilted her face up towards him, crashing her lips against his. He devoured her with her his lips, stealing her breath right out of her lungs as he tugged her closer and hitched her leg up onto his hip. One of his hands wound itself into her hair while the other snaked its way under her shirt, his calloused fingers ghosting over her skin. She moaned into his mouth as he unfastened her bra. She wanted more of him, she needed it.

The blonde Savior broke away for a moment, yanking off her shirt and allowing her bra to fall with it. She kicked off her shoes and peeled off her pants, standing in front of Negan wearing nothing more than her panties and her damp hair.

He soaked up the sight of her, taking in her body. This woman, she had the ability to turn him the fuck on with her words, her actions, and her sexy little body. He startled her by picking her up and plopping her on the bed, while he threw her shower things on the floor to make room. She let out a shriek and then a laugh that rang like bells when her body hit the mattress.

Negan made quick work of his own clothes before he joined her on the small bed. Instead of jumping right back in, he allowed his calloused fingers to trace the numerous tattoos that covered her body. He traced birds, flowers, sayings, and even a dagger that resided on one of her thighs. She was a living work of art and he wanted to appreciate every second of his time with her. Then, he began to cover her body in kisses, drawing sounds of excitement from her mouth. A tug on his arm made him look up from his work.

"I want more...all of you," her fingers told him.

He grinned slyly as he peeled off her panties so achingly slowly. He drew every action out, he didn't want this encounter to be over with. He could see Lucia squirm in anticipation, which only encouraged him to keep doing what he was doing.

His mouth found her folds and he heard a sharp intake of breath. He chuckled against her, he knew that she could feel it. Her fingers wound into his dark hair, holding on for dear life. He loved the effect that he had on her, how she became just as invested as he was in their lovemaking. This wasn't just fucking between them, not anymore, this was something more.

He continued his work, feeling her become more wound up as he went. He could tell that she was close, so he added two fingers into the mix. Her hips lifted off the mattress at the sensation and a long moan came out of her mouth. At that point, Negan stopped what he was doing for a moment. The blonde Savior lifted her head up, cocking her brow questioningly.

"Do you trust me, Luce?" he inquired.

She nodded, unsure where this was going.

"Then just roll with me on this, okay, darlin'? I'm gonna stop a few times, but trust me when I say that I will make you reach the stars, baby."

Lucia grinned, realizing what he was doing. She nodded in agreement before laying her head back down once more.

The Savior started and stopped his work four more times. Then, he started again without abandon. His fingers continuously hit that sweet spot inside, while his tongue worked on her clit. When she finally came, she repeated his name again and again, as if it were a prayer.

"Negan, Negan, Negan...oh my god, Negan."

He kept going, letting her ride her orgasm to completion. When she was fully spent, he removed his fingers from inside her and kissed both her inner thighs before looking up at her, grinning. He then slowly put his two fingers in his mouth, licking her off. He crawled up, kissing her deeply so that she could taste herself on his tongue. He pulled away, grinning quite smugly. He knew when he had done a good job, and it never hurt to acknowledge it, just a little bit.

Lucia played with his hair as he hovered over her, she was smiling, too. "Well fuck, Negan."

He chuckled a bit before kissing her once more.

"How would you feel about about a round two, darlin'?" the dark haired Savior inquired.

"And here I thought you were just warming me up for the main event," the blonde woman smirked.

Negan growled at her teasing, rolling over so that she was straddling him. She leaned over him, her laughter hitting his ears like bells.

"Now it's MY turn to have some fun with you, sir," Lucia murmured.

Sir? Fuckin' hell that woman turned him on. If he thought he was hard before she turned the tables on him, well he had been quite mistaken.

"You wanna drive, babe? Cause you can fuckin' drive. I make no objections to a sexy as hell woman takin' the wheel," the Savior said, grinning wolfishly. He wanted to see where she would take this, what exactly she would do.

The blonde Savior leaned down, capturing Negan's lips, devouring him. It was her turn to take his breath away. She dominated the kiss, demanding entrance into his mouth with her tongue, which he quickly allowed. She explored his mouth, tasting every inch of him and feeling the Savior beneath her respond to her actions. She took it one step farther, taking his bottom lip with her teeth and biting. She felt the moan on his lips, she may not be able to hear him, but damn she could fucking feel him.

Lucia pulled back a moment, sitting up. She bit her lip, considering what she was going to do next. She knew what she wanted, complete control of the situation. The question was, would he truly let her have it?

His eyes watched the woman straddling him, taking in her thinking form. He could see that she wanted something, but wasn't sure if she should ask for it.

"What do you want, Luce?" his fingers inquired. "I can see that there's somethin' that you want, you just don't know if you should ask. You know, doll, odds are the answer will be yes."

She narrowed her eyes a moment, before forming her request with her hands. "I want control, all of the control...I want to ride you."

The dark haired Savior raised his brows at this statement. If that wasn't hot as hell, he didn't know what was. "You go for it, darlin', you've got the freedom and the control. You're the driver tonight, I'm in the passenger's seat, baby."

With that, Lucia grinned in delight. She put his hands on her hips to keep her steady while she sank down onto her Savior, taking all of him deep inside her. He let out a moan, the pleasure coursing through him, which told the woman that she was indeed doing something right. She began a steady pace with her hips, which Negan then began to follow.

She tangled her fingers in her Savior's ebony hair, delighting at the reaction that she always got from him while doing it. She picked up the pace, once again pulling reactions from the man beneath her. She watched his face closely, paying attention to the changes she could see every time she sped up or did something different. The blonde Savior bent down, catching his lips with hers as she continued her work. The deep kisses, the fingers in his hair, the quickened pace...everything was bringing him closer to the edge.

He broke the kiss to get Lucia's attention, "If you don't stop soon, I'm gonna fuckin' cum. I want you get there too, Luce, you gotta slow down."

The woman above him tilted her head, considering what he had said for a moment before continuing on with her work. "It's my turn to call the shots and I say I'm not stopping. I am fucking you and you are going to fucking cum for me."

She moved her hips faster than she had before, taking him without abandon. One of Negan's hands wandered up to her breast, slowly massaging, pinching, and cupping while the other stayed glued to her hip, holding her steady. He could feel himself getting close, especially when Luce had told him that he didn't need to worry about her, to not try and stop himself. His hand left her breast to cup the uninjured side of her jaw, focusing her attention back to his face.

He moaned as he finally came, releasing himself into the woman on top of him. "Holy fuckin' shit, Luce...fuck."

When he was finished and spent, Lucia rolled off of her Savior, lying next to him. She struggled to catch her breath for a moment, she had worn herself out in her quest for control, but damn had it felt fucking good. She turned to Negan, sitting up with her back against the wall and her legs curled up so they weren't draping over him.

He sat up, looking right back at her. He grinned at the woman in bed with him. Her long curls were messy and there was a beautiful blush covering her pale cheeks. Even with stitches in her face and the cut through her brow, she was gorgeous. It wasn't simply her looks, it was everything about her that attracted him to her, pulled the Savior in like a magnet. It was as if he couldn't get enough of her.

"So do you believe me now, Luce? I fuckin' meant what I said, you mean somethin' to me," his hands told her.

She nodded. It wasn't as if she could define what this was or where they were going with this, but it wasn't just fucking around anymore. She hadn't signed up for this, and yet she was here and didn't want to leave. Shit like this didn't happen after the world fell apart, not good shit. This wasn't a fairytale, but the blonde woman didn't really care for fairytales anyway. Love was for children, fairytales were simply pipe dreams. When Marta had died, that book had slammed shut. She wouldn't lie, though, Negan meant something to her, too.

"I don't know what this is, Negan. I don't need to know what it is, but you are important to me. I just thought maybe you should know that I feel the same..." her hands faltered, trying to tell the Savior exactly what was in her mind.

The blacked haired Savior caught her hands, stopping her mumbling fingers that couldn't quite tell him what she was feeling.

"We don' need to label shit, doll. The world fell the fuck apart and somehow you and I stumbled towards each other and here we fuckin' are. I'm not askin' you to be a wife, I know that shit ain't for you. I'm not askin' anythin' of ya, really, just...know I ain't lookin' for an excuse to walk away from this."

She didn't really have anything to say back to him, there was so much information to digest here. This was not how she thought this would go. Lucia has assumed that the Savior would inquire about the test, be relieved when she said it was negative and that would be it. And yet, Negan had pried deeper, admitted things that she hadn't even known that he felt. They were into all of this much deeper than she had thought.

"Hey Luce," the Savior's hands grabbing her attention, "how's the face doin'? You got fucked up there a little bit with that run, which was a real nice one by the way. We'll be enjoyin' the fruits of your labor for a good long while. When do those stitches come out?"

Negan traced the line of her cut with a feather light touch, careful to go below it and not actually touch the stitches. She instinctively leaned into his hand, soaking in his touch.

"I should be able to take them out in three or so days, facial lacerations heal quite fast in the scheme of things. It'll scar though, I don't really mind it because I'm covered in scars anyway."

Negan lifted her chin up, getting the blonde Savior to lift her gunmetal eyes up, allowing her to read his lips. "That scar will do nothin' but make you goddamn sexier, if that's even possible. It'll also remind the world not to fuck with you because you've come out of the other side of some shit and are still standin'. I got one on my face too, see."

He pointed to the the thin, white line that ran from near his right eye down his cheek. The blonde Savior let her fingers wander over it, lightly stroking his long healed scar. He smiled at her touch, enjoying the sensation.

"You said scars...that you're covered in scars."

"Yeah, I am, you just didn't see them. Look at my half sleeve, really look. Try and see what's underneath the designs."

He grabbed her arm, looking intently at the tattoos. The first thing he noticed was bruising on her upper arm that looked like fingerprints. He winced, realising that it was from their fight. He hadn't meant to do that to her, the last thing he wanted was to physically harm her in any way. He looked up, about to apologize, to say something to try and make it clear that hurting her had not been his goal.

"Yes, yes, I know the bruising, that's unimportant right now, not what you're looking for. I know you didn't mean it, don't bother saying that you're sorry, I already know that you are. Go on, look again, look for what I told you to look for." the Savior remarked, urging him on.

Negan looked down again, trying to go beyond the mesmerizing art that littered her body. Then, he saw it, there were raised scars of various shapes and sizes all over the place. He turned her over to get a look at the piece that covered her upper back and shoulder blades. There were scars there, too. The Savior locked gazes with Lucia, trying to find the answers that he was seeking.

"A car crash, a bad one."

She didn't explain any more than that, refusing to give him any additional information. The lead Savior knew that he had gotten all that he was going to get out of her tonight. As swiftly as the book of her life had opened, she had shut it again.

For a while they simply sat together in silence, lying on the small bed together. Lucia was partially on top of Negan, while the Savior traced small circles on her back. Time seemed to slow down and reality faded away. The chaos of the world was non existent in that tiny room, even if it was simply temporary.

The blonde woman began to doze off, but her Savior shook her slightly, bringing the world back into focus. "I'll stay with ya until you go to sleep, but then I have to go finish some shit up before bed. That okay, Luce?"

She made a quiet sound of agreement before snuggling back up again and closing her eyes. The Savior chuckled silently at her actions, she had definitely made herself comfortable. He knew that he wouldn't get much more conversation tonight, so he settled for simply enjoying the fact that this very naked, extremely beautiful and intelligent woman was sleeping on top of him. The Savior kissed the messy curls that cascaded around him, listening to Lucia breathe.

Once again, this was another night that did not go the way that he had expected. It never really did when it came to the woman on top of him, though. She played the game more by her rules than his own, which gave him a pause. Negan was used to predicting what the others around him would do, but he could never quite put his finger on what course of action she'd end up taking.

The pregnancy test has surprised him today when he looked through the logs, his heart faltered a beat or two when he had seen her name signed right by it. Their conversation was another creature altogether. She had been cold, like ice, distancing herself from everything, as if it would save her from pain if she refused to feel at all. Her assessment of himself hadn't really come as a shock, she simply made assumptions based upon some of his actions. Didn't mean that her words hadn't fuckin' stung like hell, though.

When he had come into her room to wait for her, the Savior hadn't had plans to fuck Luce, but the more heated their discussion get, the more he had wanted her. He didn't have the ability to tell her what he felt, but he sure as hell could show her. He smirked into that head of gorgeous curls, that woman was loud as all fucking get out. He was pretty sure that the entire hallway of Saviors that lived over here had heard her loud and goddamn clear every time he had made her see the stars. Well, at least they had gotten a bit of a show and everyone knew without a doubt that Lucia Johansson was his. He found himself wanting to remind the Sanctuary of that fact pretty fucking often these days.

It wasn't as if he did this with his wives at all, if ever. They were more like status symbols these days. They had no opinions that he cared about, they had chosen the easy life for various reasons. His wives were more of a business transaction than anything, especially these days. Luce occupied his time, his thoughts, and his presence. He didn't want to have to choose when it came to her, she was his choice.

The question was what to do with the wives. There wasn't any tangible way to stop them from being his wives. He made an agreement with each and every one of them which guaranteed their safety, that they would be taken care of and given what they needed. Each deal was slightly different, but the gist was basically the same. He was a man of his word and he had married each and every one of them and promised them what they needed. He was pretty sure a few of them wouldn't even survive working for points, anyway. A dead pretty woman was a fucking shame in this world, he mused darkly.

Maybe, he could restructure his "marriages" a little bit. Once Lucia had come into the picture, things had changed. Negan was no longer sleeping with any of the other women, how could he when that blonde woman invaded every part of his being? She didn't want a life of luxury, she had refused the easy way. She wasn't a trophy to be admired up on a shelf, no, she was a soldier, a fighter. That woman had made it this far in this shitty world without hearing a sound, she beat the dead every time despite of it all. Her will to live was truly impressive, as was her adaptability.

The Savior decided that he could still provide for the wives, but they could be more for show than anything else. He could give them a little more freedom, maybe lengthen the leash a little bit, so to speak. In exchange, they would go on with what they were doing, acting like wives at public events, just without the sex. He knew most of them weren't really interested in fucking him, anyway. They did it because it was part of their job to do so. They were never forced, he refused to do that to a woman, but they weren't all clambering to get into his bed, either.

He shook his head, as bad as it sounded even in his own head, he couldn't remember the last time that he had been monogamous or faithful to a woman. He had always insisted that it just wasn't in his nature, that there was too much out there to stop for one girl. He had even stepped out on Lucille time and time again before all this shit started, before the world fell apart. Up until she died, she had loved him regardless of his transgressions. She always took him back. He didn't want Luce to become like that, he didn't want to do that again. He also didn't want to just fuck around with her and call it a day. It's not as if he could tell her any of this, not yet, not now. He just knew that this, with her, was different.

Negan looked down to see the Savior asleep, softly snoring, with her cheek against his chest. She looked so innocent, so young, when she slept. Everything melted away, leaving her true form. As much as he wanted to stay, he had to leave. There were things still left for him to do tonight. He slowly untangled his body from Lucia's and gently easing her under the covers, wrapping her up in her bed. A soft sigh escaped her lips, but she did not awaken.

The ebony haired Savior shrugged on his clothes before gathering up all of Luce's discarded showering supplies and neatly putting them on the table. He then picked up her clothing that was scattered across the room and folded it all before placing them in the easy chair. Once this was done, he grabbed Lucille and headed out, taking the ledger with him. The barbed bat rested easily on his shoulder as he made his way up through his Sanctuary. He let out a lopsided grin, wondering to himself how it had all come down to this. He hadn't planned for this woman and he didn't know how to fucking start planning now. He supposed that he would roll with the punches and go from there. If anything had to occupy his mind, he was sure as hell glad it was her.

Author's Note: Well hey there, dropping some more content for you guys. This one was a fun one to write. Special thanks to one of my best friends Lynn for deciding that she wanted to read my story and listening to me get extremely excited that I'm creating my own representation (I am Hard of Hearing, not fully Deaf, but I do lipread and live my life a little differently due to the fact that my ears don't fully work). Also a big thanks to Nicole, PropertyOfNegan7, SpringBorn, and Muffin35 for taking the time to leave me a review. It means a lot to me and I appreciate the opportunity to get a feeling of what's going on in your heads. Enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think! xo Kat


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